MXPA00006033A - Euphausiid harvesting and processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Method and apparatus for harvesting and processing zooplankton and, in particular, for harvesting and processing euphausiids for subsequent use as a feed product for early stage juvenile or larvae feed or for a food product as an additive. The euphausiids are continuously harvested from coastal waters and dewatered. The dewatered product is passed to a heat exchanger (50) to increase its temperature and, thence, to a digester (51) where a desired level of enzymatic activity is obtained. The product is then held by a surge tank (80) for subsequent transfer to a ball dryer (81) where the product is dried at a relatively low temperature without destroying the stabilized enzymes created in the digester. The digesting step may be deleted in the event the use of the product is for a food product.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EUFASIDES COLLECTION AND PROCESSING DESCRIPTION BACKGROUND AND FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method and apparatus for collecting and processing zooplankton and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for collecting and processing euphausiids making them food products fit for human consumption such as a carotenoid containing a food product and / or in some food products for animal consumption, including fish farming, especially that related to the culture of young fish. With the advent of increasing activity in fish farming or fish farming in the first half of the eighties, research has been aimed at increasing productivity or growth rate and reducing the mortality rate of fish farming under fish farming conditions since the survival of these fish is important. One of said factors relates to increasing the nutritional value and the good flavor of the feed used in the culture of such fish. In addition to the nutritional value, it is desirable to reduce the feeding cost for such fish since, typically, the cost becomes about 40 to 50% of the total cost of fish farming. The feeding should be a high quality feed to meet the objectives of having high nutritional value in order to maximize the growth and reduce the mortality of the fish.

The requirement for food products in fish farming is projected to grow considerably and, as a result, there is and will be pressure to obtain the necessary ingredients for fish feed. The possibility of using zooplankton and, in particular, euphausids, as a fish feed, appetizer or food product has been investigated and it has been found to be possible and desirable, particularly as a food product. The euphausiids are a natural food that is collected directly from coastal waters and have high nutritional value but, previously, the cost of collecting and processing this zooplankton to convert it into a food product had been prohibitively expensive. Likewise, the problems of zooplankton biomass availability, zooplankton storage and its collection and processing are parameters that must be investigated in order to determine if the product would be appropriate as a food product. Through documents written by Fulton and other authors, the use of zooplankton as a food product or food product has been contemplated for some time. In particular, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superb?) Has been investigated for human consumption, although relatively little work has been investigated in relation to fish farming. The use of Euphausia pacifica in the coastal waters of British Columbia, Canada has only been considered in relation to fish farming. It is clear from these investigations that the necessary biomass is available in coastal waters. Previously, euphausides have been used as an ingredient for pet food and some fish farming operators have used euphausi as a feed product. The euphausiids were used for such purposes in a frozen form after being harvested and in some cases, the euphausiids were frozen dry after harvesting. This is an expensive procedure. Previously, euphausiids from coastal waters were collected using a medium-water harrow fishing system. When the trawl net was full of euphausiids, the trawl net would rise and the euphausiids would be stored on a part of the ship's deck for subsequent freezing. When using the medium-water harrow network, however, severe damage was caused to the euphausiids when they were piled up in the net's pigsty. The euphausiids would eventually be crushed and filtration would occur when the net rose which is believed to reduce the nutritional value of the euphausiids. To reduce this damage, only a certain weight of euphausiids was subsequently taken in each operation when the net was lifted in an attempt to reduce handling damage. Despite this, a certain degree of damage still occurred and, of course, the time required to raise the net is a disadvantage due to the reduction of fishing time. In food products that are processed, it is typically the case that the ingredients used in such food products are heated to a high temperature of about 100 ° C when the product is dried and processed. By heating the product at such a high temperature, it is believed that the enzymes and other proteins in the product are denatured. If, however, an attempt is made to use the product for the early stage or juvenile fish culture, in which young fish have relatively underdeveloped digestive systems, it is believed desirable that the euphausiids maintain a certain proportion of enzymes that will aid the digestive process in such larvae. If the theory that the enzymes are advantageous in the diet is correct, such destruction of the enzymes during the aforementioned drying process is disadvantageous.

It is also desirable to have a natural product where the proteins are not denatured, available for feeding to the juvenile state or larvae. In some previous products, exogenous enzymes have been added to the zooplankton mixture. However, the addition of such enzymes is difficult to control and can result in complete hydrolysis of the proteins to amino acids. The presence of free amino acids in the feed needs to be controlled because it can create an inferior product of considerably low value for a feed product. Surprisingly it has been shown that the degree of enzyme activity and that determines the digestibility of a product reaches a relatively constant value after a certain period of time in a natural product. Recent investigations carried out by the applicant have confirmed this characteristic in relation to the Eufásia pacifica. This characteristic was first discovered in relation to the Euphrasia superba by Kubota and Sakai in a report entitled "Autolysis of Antarctic Krill Protein and Its Inactivation by Combined Effects of Temperature and pH", Transactions of the Tokvo University of Fishers, number 2, page 53- 63, March 1978. However, the study of Antarctic krill by Messrs. Kubota and Sakai had the objective of limiting the enzyme activity that was harmful to obtain a food product as opposed to obtaining a food product. Messrs. Kubota and Sakai wanted to inhibit enzymatic activity by certain process techniques that they considered desirable when the product was intended as a food product. When a degree of stabilization in the enzymatic activity in the euphausiids has been obtained during the digestive process, further processing can be carried out in order to make a product useful for commercial feeding. Such processes may include adding acid to obtain a stabilized acid product or drying the product using a variety of drying techniques such as freeze drying, spray drying, air drying or vacuum drying. Spray drying, like other drying processes, however, is done at temperatures that will permanently inactivate the enzymes in the euphausiids which, as mentioned above, are considered to be undesirable for fish farming purposes although it is acceptable for purposes in the which the product is intended to be used as a carotenoid biopigment for purposes of coloring both food products and food products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of zooplankton harvesting comprising dragging a trawl net behind a vessel in coastal waters through a concentration of zooplankton, the net having an open front end and a pigsty in the back, elements to keep the open end of the net at a predetermined depth below the surface of the coastal waters where the zooplankton is concentrated, a cage placed in the net's pigsty to keep the pigpen in an open condition and a pump to continuously transport the zooplankton, from the pigsty of the net to a part of the ship's deck. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for collecting zooplankton from coastal waters comprising a harrow network having an open end and a pigsty, elements for pulling the drag net behind a vessel, elements for maintaining open the trawl net at a certain depth below the surface of the coastal waters, elements to keep the net pigpen in an open condition and elements for pumping the zooplankton from the net pigsty to a part of the ship's deck. According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a feed product comprising heating an amount of zooplankton at a predetermined temperature of less than 70 ° C., maintaining the temperature uniformly for a predetermined period of time for the entire amount of zooplankton, removing the zooplankton after the predetermined time period at the predetermined temperature and storing the zooplankton. According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a feed product comprising a method for producing a feed product comprising drying an amount of zooplankton harvested by passing the zooplankton through a dryer, the dryer having a plurality of moving balls which are intended to touch the zooplankton at a temperature which is elevated by passing a preheated volume of air through the balls and the zooplankton at a predetermined volume and temperature for a predetermined period of time. According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for obtaining a feed product from zooplankton comprising elements for maintaining a quantity of the zooplankton, elements for raising the temperature of the maintenance elements to a predetermined value, elements for distributing the predetermined temperature through the amount of zooplankton, elements for maintaining the predetermined temperature for a predetermined time in the zooplankton and elements for removing after the predetermined time at the predetermined temperature the amount of zooplankton of the maintenance elements. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a feed product comprising drying an amount of zooplankton harvested by passing the zooplankton through a dryer, the dryer having a plurality of movable balls intended to touch the zooplankton to a elevated temperature which is maintained by passing a volume of preheated air through the balls and a volume of zooplankton for a predetermined period of time. According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a drying apparatus for the zooplankton drying comprising means for introducing the zooplankton into the drying vessel, elements for introducing a predetermined flow of hot air into the drying vessel and thereby heating a plurality of balls mobiles within the container at a predetermined temperature and causing the zooplankton to come into contact with the heated balls for a predetermined period of time. According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a feed or additive product comprising the steps of subjecting a quantity of zooplankton to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined period of time in order to maintain the enzymatic activity of the animals. zooplankton enzymes to perform partial autolysis of the zooplankton and / or other protein containing compounds that can be mixed with the hydrolyzemic and then suspend the enzymatic activity by drying the zooplankton at a temperature below 70 ° C to conserve the plankton enzyme in the zooplankton .

BRIEF DESCRD7CION OF THE DRAWINGS.

The specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, using the drawings in which: Figure 1A is a schematic isometric view of a fishing vessel with a fixed net using the technique of collecting euphausiids in accordance with the invention Figure IB is a schematic front view of a network in an alternative collection technique according to the invention. Figure 2A is a schematic side view of a cage that is used to maintain in an open position the pig pen of the fishing net illustrated in Figure 1 and which is further used to transport the collected euphausiids to the harvest vessel. Figures 2B and 2C are side and rear views, respectively, of the dehydration tub used to remove water from the collected euphausiids. Figure 3 is a process diagram illustrating the processing of the euphausides after the dehydration steps illustrated in Figure 2 and prior to the drying step. Figures 4A and 4B are views in front and side section of the heat exchanger to raise the temperature of the euphausiids collected before the digestion process. Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view of the autoclave or digester used to create the desired level of enzyme within the euphausides; and Figure 6 is a side schematic cross-sectional view of the ball dryer used to dry the euphausides after removal of the euphausides from the compensation chamber located downstream of the digester or autoclave.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.

Referring now to the drawings, in Figure 1 a tugboat 10 is illustrated. A plurality of towing ropes 11, 12, 13 are connected to the tug 10 to tow a barge 14 and a net 20. A plurality of ropes 21 is connected ( only one of which is shown) to the network 20 and extend down the barge 14. Weights 22 are connected to the bottom of the open portion facing forward of the network 20 in order to maintain the network 20 at a depth desired and predetermined where the concentration of zooplankton is satisfactory. The rear pigpen 23 of the net 20 is kept in an open condition using a cage generally illustrated by 24 in FIG. 2. The cage 24 is of cylindrical configuration and is located within the pigsty of the net 20. It is made of aluminum and it is preferably resistant to corrosion. An attachment 30 is welded to the downstream end of the cage 24 and an end of an articulated connection 31 is attached to the accessory 30 to prevent clogging of the network in the event that the components become unstable under adverse collection conditions. A hose 32 is connected to the other end of the connection 31. Referring again to Figure 1, the hose 32 extends up the pigsty of the net 20 to the barge 14. A Pump of a variety of configurations but, conveniently, a Well diaphragm pump 33 is located at the other end of hose 32 on barge 14. A dehydration tub is generally shown as 34 and illustrated in Figures 2B and 2C. The dewatering tub 34 has a rectangular configuration generally along and is also located on the barge 14. The dewatering tub conveniently takes the configuration of a "lazy L". A set of screens 40 located at obtuse angles is used to allow water to leave the pumped euphausiids and leave the tub 34 through the drain pipes 41 while the euphausiids accumulate inside the dehydration tub 34. A freezer of air jet 42 is also located on barge 14 to stabilize the collected euphausiids. The air blast freezer 42 subjects the euphausides to a temperature of about + 9 ° to -17 ° C and is used to freeze dehydrated euphausides and stabilize the product for further processing. The euphausiids accumulate inside the hopper to dehydrate 34 and are periodically removed from the tub 34 from time to time for freezing. After that, the frozen euphausiids are transported to a processing location and processed as described below. In prototype demonstrations, the 20 network used for the harvest operation was a specially designed 13-foot by 21-foot plankton net suspended from a 46-foot aluminum barge. The pumping action was carried out by means of a three-inch diaphragm pump located on the barge 14 and the freezing action was carried out inside an air jet freezer 42 at a temperature of minus seventeen (-17 ° C) degrees centigrade As described above, the frozen euphausides are transported to a processing location to transform the euphausides into the desired food product. Reference is now made to the flow chart of Figure 3. A pump 43 is connected to a feeder device 44 which receives the euphausids which are now in a defrosting condition. The pump 43 is connected to the heat exchanger generally illustrated as 50, shown schematically in Figure 3. The heat exchanger 50 is intended to raise the temperature of the euphausides to a temperature of about 40 ° C to 60 ° C that most closely approaches the temperature maintained in the autoclave which is generally less than 70 ° C, the autoclave is generally illustrated as 51. The autoclave or digester 51 is located downstream of the heat exchanger 50 in the process illustrated in the figure 3. Although several different types of heat exchangers can be employed, the heat exchanger 50 conveniently comprises a plurality of tubes 52 (Figure 4A) in which the euphausides are conducted through the heat exchanger. The hot water enters the inlet 54 of the heat exchanger 50 and circulates through the heat exchanger 50 generally following the flow path seen in Figure 4B which uses a plurality of deflectors 53. The hot water leaves the exchanger of heat through the outlet 61. After the temperature rise created in the euphausides by the heat exchanger 50, they pass to the autoclave 51. The autoclave 51 is seen in greater detail in figure 5. It comprises a product inlet 61 and a product outlet 62. A water inlet 63 and a water outlet 64 are provided. A water jacket 70 through which the heated water circulates around the cylindrical hollow area 71 of the autoclave 51 containing the euphausides. A plurality of agitator discs 72 are located vertically within the hollow area 71 of the autoclave 51 and are used to remove the euphausids when they are inside the autoclave 51. A valve 73 is used to close the product outlet 62 to keep the euphausides inside. of the autoclave 51 until the appropriate time and temperature for the desired formation of enzyme within the euphausides has been reached. The period of time has been conveniently extended to a lapse of between thirty (30) minutes and two (2) hours. Although it is currently believed that a degree of digestibility will improve the feed product only for certain fish such as early or juvenile larval stages, it is contemplated by the applicant that such digestibility can improve the feed product for virtually all fish. When using the autoclave 51 illustrated in Figure 5, a batch process that handles a volume of euphausides of 250 lb./hr is currently being used. The valve 62 is then opened and the quantity of euphausides inside the autoclave 51 passes through the valve 62 and is transported via the valve 74 to the compensation chamber or to the heated batch storage vessel 80 where they await treatment in the dryer , conveniently a ball dryer generally illustrated as 81 (Figure 6), where relatively low and controlled temperatures can be applied to the euphausiids so that all enzymes existing within the euphausiids are not inactive as might otherwise be the case in a normal drying process. The euphausides pass from the storage container 80 to the ball dryer 81 through the product inlet 83 and, from there, around the periphery of the dryer 81 initially through the application areas 91 where the balls initially touch the euphausiids and the drying process begins. The ball dryer 81 performs a "soft" drying process that reduces damage to euphausiids due to its moderate action. The ball drying process using a continuous feed in the ball dryer 81 and a product flow of 15 Ib / hr is useful. As the balls and euphausiids move down through the drying zones 92, they encounter a flow of concurrent drying air at a controlled temperature at less than 50 ° C, the air enters the ball dryer 81 through of the air inlet 82. Air flow, temperature and drying time are controlled and monitored precisely within this zone. All these are variable factors that depend on whether the product is wet or dry and for what period of time it is intended that the product remains in the dryer 81. In the separation zone 93 at the bottom of the dryer 81, the balls and the euphausides they find a countercurrent flow of controlled temperature air for separation and final drying. The dry euphausides exit the ball dryer 81 through the product outlet 84 and go to the packing stage. The dryer balls are raised by the rotary coil 94 and recirculated to the application zone 91 and the continuous process. Although many commercial ball dryers can be used for the air drying of euphausides, an ECAL Pilot Drier Type 25 has been found satisfactory for the prototype purposes set forth in this application. This ball dryer is manufactured by ECAL PDS America, Inc. of Princeton, N.Y. It is contemplated that although the processing of the euphausiids has been described as taking place at a land location, such process steps may be performed at the collection location on board either the harvest vessel or any other vessel conveniently located in the surroundings. This results in an advantage in the sense that freezing is not required after harvesting and that they do not need transport to a ground processing base resulting in considerable cost savings and improvement in quality. In addition, the euphausides can be introduced directly into the ball dryer 81 after collection. The dried euphausides, after being subjected to the drying process and / or the autoclave, can then be stored on the vessel until a considerable quantity has been obtained and then can be transferred to another vessel to transport it to the same processing vessel that, when fill, will transport the euphausiids to the coast. Likewise and while it is desirable that the steps of digestion and drying be carried out concurrently and sequentially in the case in which the euphausiids are intended to be used as a feeding product for early and juvenile larval stages, it is further contemplated that the euphausiids may be dried directly after harvesting in the event that the digestion step is not required as might be the case, for example, if the collected euphausiids are intended to be used as a food product such as to be used as an additive or as a food animal where predigestion is not required such as, for example, when it is used as a cat food, for example, or is contemplated as an appetizer. An additional collection technique is contemplated in Figure IB.

In this technique, the weights 101 are connected at the end of the mouth of the network generally illustrated as 114 at the ends of the lowermost horizontal beam 103. The floats 100 are connected to the upper horizontal beam 102 of the mouth end of the network 114. Depending on the size of the network 114, the lines are connected on one end of the fixing points 104, firstly or, alternatively, to points 110, 111, 112, 113 and, at the other end, to the tug . The network 114 is pulled through the water by accumulating the zooplankton that enters the network 14 via the mouth. Other applications for the hydrolyzed krill product are also contemplated. Fish under stress, which is common with farmed species raised with fish farming techniques, are reluctant to eat and, consequently, the supply of medicines and special diets used for such marine species are difficult to use because the fish do not find such tasty products. The hydrolyzed krill and other zooplankton product according to the invention can be used with such a supply of medicaments and special diets by creating an improved flavor when the medicinal product such as a wafer is coated or mixed with the hydrolyzed zooplankton product in a paste or liquid form. . Also, while such other products may include specially added amino acids and other compounds to improve the taste of the product, the hydrolyzed krill according to the present invention preserves and improves the level of some free amino acids and other flavorings thus allowing to enhance the flavor with a natural product without adding amino acids or other flavorings. Also, krill retain the original pigments and fatty acids. The activity of the enzymes, which are contained in the krill, is also retained in the hydrolyzed natural product according to the invention. Such enzymes allow better digestion for cultured marine species by increasing the availability of peptides and free amino acids without creating additional harmful stress on such species. Yet an additional application contemplated by the present invention is the use of hydrolyzed krill in association with either a vegetable protein or a plant such as soybean meal and canola in fish feed mixes. Such an application would increase the digestibility of the plant protein which inherently and by itself has relatively low digestibility and good taste. This is because the enzymes in the hydrolyzed krill products according to the invention are conserved by the hydrolysis and act on the plant proteins. The improved digestibility of a combination of plant protein product and hydrolyzed krill is also contemplated to reduce the fecal load in the environment by fish fed such a combination. This can be an important aspect with cultivated freshwater and marine species. Also, the good taste of such non-fish food proteins, in particular, plant proteins such as cañola or soybean meal, is improved. The experiments carried out to date use the enzymes in krill to effect a limited hydrolysis of canola and other plant proteins. For example, a portion of dry soybean meal or barley to which ten percent (10%) of wheat bran has been added is mixed with five (5) parts of hydrolyzed krill. The hydrolyzed product is pumped from the autoclave into the storage food hopper and the dry mix is added. The mixture is brought to the desired temperature and stirred in the digester for approximately one (1) hour. Measurements of phytic acid and amino acid and ammonia levels are made. For example, 250 lbs of krill are hydrolysed by bringing the krill to approximately 45 ° C. The temperature is maintained for one (1) hour and then mixed with 5 lbs. of wheat bran with 45 Ibs. of concentrated cane. The use of wheat bran is necessary to provide phytose, an enzyme that is absent in cañola flour and krill. Phytic acid is dephosphorylated by the phytose of wheat bran. Phytic acid is attacked by enzymes. Note that the mixture can be retained in the digester for a prolonged period of time, up to a period of four (4) hours or more.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described, such description should be taken only as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting its scope as defined in accordance with the accompanying claims.

Claims (35)

1. - A method for producing an additive or feed product characterized in that it comprises heating an amount of zooplankton at a predetermined temperature of less than 70 ° C, maintaining the temperature uniformly for a predetermined period of time through the amount of zooplankton, removing the zooplankton after the predetermined time period at predetermined temperature and store the zooplankton.

2. The method according to claim 1, further characterized in that the predetermined temperature is less than 60 ° C and greater than 35 ° C.

3. The method according to claim 1, further characterized in that the predetermined time period is from thirty minutes to two hours.

4. The method according to claim 3, further characterized in that the period of time is approximately sixty minutes.

5. The method according to claim 2, further characterized in that the storage comprises freezing the removed zooplankton. .

6. The method according to claim 2, further characterized in that the storage further comprises controlling the pH of the zooplankton.

7. The method according to claim 2, further characterized in that it comprises drying the zooplankton.

8. The method according to claim 2, further characterized in that the zooplankton comprises euphausides.

9. A method for producing an additive or feed product characterized in that it comprises the steps of heating an amount of zooplankton at a predetermined temperature of less than 70 ° C in order to promote the enzymatic activity in the zooplankton without the addition of exogenous enzymes, maintaining the temperature uniformly for a predetermined period of time through the amount of zooplankton, removing the zooplankton after the predetermined period of time at pre-set temperature and storing the removed zooplankton.

10. An apparatus for obtaining a feed product from zooplankton characterized in that it comprises elements for maintaining a quantity of zooplankton, elements for raising the temperature of the elements to maintain, at a predetermined value, elements for distributing the predetermined temperature through of the amount of zooplankton, elements to maintain the predetermined temperature for a predetermined time in the zooplankton and elements to remove the amount of zooplankton from the elements to maintain, after the predetermined time at the pre-set temperature.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, further characterized in that the zooplankton are euphaused.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, further characterized in that the element for raising the temperature is a heating element.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, further characterized in that the distribution element is a mixer.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, further characterized in that it comprises elements for processing zooplankton after the removal of the zooplankton from the elements to be maintained.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, further characterized in that the processing elements is a ball dryer.

16. - The confopnity method with claim 5, further characterized in that the zooplankton is dried using a ball dryer.

17. A method for producing an additive or feed product characterized in that it comprises drying an amount of zooplankton collected by passing the zooplankton through a dryer, the dryer having a plurality of movable balls intended to touch the zooplankton at an elevated temperature which a volume of preheated air is passed through the balls and a volume of zooplankton for a predetermined period of time.

18.- Drying apparatus for drying the zooplankton characterized in that it comprises elements for introducing the zooplankton to the drying vessel, elements for introducing a predetermined stream of hot air into the container to heat a plurality of moving balls within the dryer vessel to a predetermined temperature and to cause the zooplankton to come into contact with the hot balls for a predetermined period of time.

19. A method for producing a feed additive or product characterized in that it comprises the steps of subjecting a quantity of zooplankton at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined period of time to maintain the enzymatic activity of the zooplankton to effect partial autolysis of the zooplankton and then suspend the enzymatic activity drying the zooplankton at a temperature lower than 70 ° C to conserve the plankton enzyme in the zooplankton.

20. The confopnity method with claim 19. further characterized in that the predetermined temperature is from 35 ° C to 60 ° C.

21. - The confopnity method with claim 20, further characterized in that the time period is from thirty minutes to two hours.

22. The method according to claim 21, further characterized in that the pH of the zooplankton is maintained at a value of 4 to 7.

23. An additive or feed product produced by the method according to any of claims 19 22.

The method according to claim 6, further characterized in that the pH is controlled between values of 4 to 7.

The method according to claim 9, further characterized in that the predetermined time period is from thirty minutes to two hours.

26. A food product characterized in that it is produced in accordance with the method of claim 1.

27.- A food product characterized in that it is produced according to the method of claim 9.

28.- A food product characterized because it is produced according to the method of claim 7.

29.- A food product characterized in that it is produced according to the method of claim 19.

30.- Method for producing an additive or food product characterized in that it comprises mixing a predetermined quantity of product produced according to the method of claim 1 with a predefined quantity of plant protein.

31. - The method according to claim 30, characterized in that the plant protein is a cañola or soybean seed.

32. The method according to claim 31, further characterized in that the mixed product is heated to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined period of time. 33.- The method according to claim 32, further characterized in that the predetermined temperature is less than 70 ° C. 34.- The method according to claim 33, further characterized in that the predeteminated time period is less than four hours. 35.- A food product characterized in that it is produced according to the method of claim 30.