The technique, which extracts protein from animal muscle tissue and applies this to the surface of a substrate just prior to deep frying, can result in a 50 to 80 percent fat reduction in the final product.
"In laboratory conditions, we can even achieve a 90 percent reduction," said Proteus founder and chief scientist, Stephen Kelleher, at a special new technologies and products symposium at the IFT show in New Orleans.
The technology could therefore revolutionize fried food development in the United States and transform the fortunes of a sector under fire from health and nutritional campaigners. Fried foods have been blamed for contributing to the rise in obesity, and growing awareness of the dangers of trans fats has resulted in a clear trend towards healthier products.
US sales of products labeled "no trans fat" increased 12 percent to $6.4 billion for the 52 weeks ended Oct. 2, 2004, compared with the previous 52-week period, according to New York-based AC-Nielsen.
Proteus is therefore confident that the novel protein coating, which is derived from mechanically deboned animals and fish, will tap into this growing trend towards lower fat food products.
" This process can be used for par-fried products (i.e. products that must be fully cooked by the consumer), battered products, flour-based products and vegetable substrates," said Kelleher.
"And we've come close to producing a low-fat fried product. We've broken the four percent fat barrier, and we're looking to break the three percent mark."
The coating technology is relatively straight forward. Separation technology isolates soluble proteins, which are then concentrated in an ultrafiltration membrane.
This concentrate can then be sprayed right over, say, fish sticks, blocking fat from entering the product when it is deep-fried. Alternatively, products such as fried shrimp can be dipped after breading has been put on. And the concentrate can also be incorporated into batter mix.
Kelleher said that licenses were now available for this technology.
"There are also labeling issues that need to be taken into account," said Kelleher. "We've submitted our product for FDA approval, and we have already secured GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) approval for fish and poultry.
"We hope to be labeled as 'salmon protein' in the ingredients panel of a product. We've passed safety regulations; it's just a question of what we call our product. We want to see 'acidulant' for example defined as a processing aid and not an ingredient - we're awaiting a decision on this at the moment."
Labeling is indeed of critical importance. US consumers may not necessarily know what an acidulant or a trans fat is, but they are increasingly aware of what is good and what is bad for them.
Nearly all FDA-regulated food products labeled for sale in the US must comply with new labeling laws, which come into force on January 1, 2006, and some industry bodies are concerned that mid-size firms are not yet prepared.
However, if Proteus' coating technology can enable food manufacturers to significantly reduce the fat content of their products and enable them to comply with new labeling rules, then consumers, who are growing ever-more aware of issues relating to health and obesity, are likely to respond positively.