Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, Silvia Murillo, Ryan Ardoin and Evelyn Watts

Global fish production, which includes both capture fisheries that harvest wild fish and aquaculture, is projected to reach 204 million tons by the year 2030. It has been estimated that over 60% of fish biomass can be wasted during processing, which can have social, economic and environmental implications. Converting seafood byproducts, such as bone and skin, into human food rather than waste or feed applications, a process called valorization, can contribute to an increasingly circular and sustainable food supply where natural resources are fully exploited. However, consumer insight is needed for effective waste-to-value product development.

To understand consumers’ preferences for valorized catfish products, the LSU AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Sciences worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service in New Orleans to conduct two studies through the AgCenter Sensory Services Lab.

Effects of Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Bone Powder on Consumers’ Liking, Emotions and Purchase Intent of Fried Catfish Strips

Catfish is the predominant U.S. aquacultural product. The major commercial outputs of catfish processing include fillets, shank fillets, strips and nuggets. Catfish byproducts, such as viscera (internal organs), heads, skin and frames, can account for more than 60% of the whole catfish weight. The frame, which is composed of the backbone and ribs with some muscle, fat and nerve tissues still attached and remains after filleting, constitutes around 18% of the original catfish mass. This frame, including bones, is high in calcium (21.07% dry weight basis) and typically goes to waste or is sold as a low-value feed. Fried catfish is an immensely popular, iconic Southern dish featuring fillets dredged in seasoned cornmeal and fried until crispy and golden. It is growing in popularity not just in the South but throughout the United States.

Research by the team evaluated the potential use of catfish bones that are dried and ground into powder as a food ingredient. It is potentially feasible to upcycle catfish bone powder by incorporating it in a cornmeal seasoning mix to add calcium while also improving the crispiness of fried dredged catfish. To achieve this, it was critical to first determine how much catfish bone powder can be incorporated in a cornmeal seasoning mix without compromising quality and consumer acceptance of the fried catfish.

To study this, catfish fillet strips were dredged with cornmeal seasoning mixes containing 0%, 10% and 20% catfish bone powder before deep-frying. For a taste testing session at the AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Sciences Sensory Services Lab, 211 consumers were recruited.

Consumers evaluated the visual appearance and color, aroma, surface crispiness, texture and flavor of fried catfish strips. They also rated how they liked the strips overall. Collectively, the data indicated that at 10% and 20% catfish bone powder addition levels in the breading mixes, catfish bone powder did not compromise the sensory quality of the fried catfish strips. The sample with 20% catfish bone powder obtained “liking” scores between 6.88 and 7.12 (“moderately liked” on a 9-point hedonic scale).

About 62% of consumers indicated that the surface crispiness of the sample with 20% catfish bone powder was perceived as “just about right.” Negative effects of catfish bone powder on the aroma or flavor liking of fried catfish were not observed. The fish aroma or flavor inherent to catfish bone powder may have been indistinguishable from that of the catfish flesh or commensurate with their expectations of fried fish.

A statement that read “The breading mix was supplemented with edible and safe catfish bone powder to increase calcium, which may provide health benefit” was given to consumers. Positive purchase intent of the sample with 20% catfish bone powder increased from 74% to 84% after such statement had been given. This statement showed a greater effect on positive purchase intent of Latin Americans or Hispanics than non-Hispanics.

Catfish Fillet Strips Study Demographics

211 participants

52% male | 48% female

52% Identified as non-Hispanic white

25% Identified as Hispanic or Latino

62% ages 18–25 | 29% ages 26–35

Food-evoked emotions have been shown to differentiate food products and predict purchase intent better than sensory liking scores alone. Emotional responses may be particularly relevant to understanding consumers’ willingness to consume ingredients from novel sources such as catfish byproducts like catfish bone powder.

Positive emotions, such as good, satisfied, pleasant, happy and interested, were associated with samples containing catfish bone powder by 45% to 60% of consumers. Low selection rates (less than 8% of consumers) of the negative descriptors, such as worried, unsafe, disgusted and guilty, lent credence to consumers’ openness to consumption of catfish bone powder delivered in a familiar and readily acceptable product like fried catfish. This result may suggest that most consumers were not concerned with the safety or origin of catfish bone powder. Adventurous is one of the “sensation-seeking emotions” tested in the lab. As catfish bones are not typically consumed in the U.S., a higher rate of adventurousness (approximately 19% for both samples with 10% catfish bone powder and 20% catfish bone powder compared to 10% for sample with 0% catfish bone powder) was observed. This may have been related to increased arousal and positive regard for new eating experiences.

Overall, consumers were not averse to the consumption of catfish bone powder, which can contribute to sustainable nutrition through waste reduction. Successful calcium fortification of fried catfish dredged with 20% catfish bone powder did not compromise sensory liking and may be feasible in other products. To meet the recommended daily intake of 1,000 milligrams of calcium from catfish bone powder alone would require consumption of 4.72 grams (dry weight basis) of catfish bone powder daily, which is equivalent to 25 grams of the 20% catfish bone powder-fortified seasoning mix. Catfish bone powder and subsequent food applications are not intended to be a sole source of dietary calcium but rather provide additional options to address dietary calcium deficiencies.

Consumers’ Acceptance, Emotions and Responsiveness to Informational Cues for Air-Fried Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Skin Chips

Previous research found that consumers identified fish products as the most appropriate for seafood byproduct incorporation and also identified snack foods as a top five product category. This motivated a new product concept of upcycling catfish skin by transforming it into catfish skin chips. Fish skin chips are not unprecedented. In Asia, they are available commercially and made from salmon, basa fish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) skin.

The research team pioneered the development and testing of air-fried chips made from catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) skins, which were flavored with lemon and pepper, paprika or barbecue seasoning powder. The team chose the nontraditional cooking method of air-frying because it required no oil for cooking, yielding less greasy catfish skin chips. Additionally, it was less messy compared with the deep-fat frying method.

For a taste testing session at the Sensory Services Lab, 115 consumers were recruited for a taste testing. Consumers evaluated sensory liking of overall visual quality, surface color, aroma, texture, crispiness and flavor of the catfish skin chip samples. The most visually acceptable chip was flavored with barbecue seasoning, followed by the paprika-flavored sample. The plain, nonseasoned sample was not acceptable in terms of visual quality and surface color. Likewise, the barbecue-seasoned chip obtained the highest liking score for aroma and flavor (6.2-6.5, which is slightly to moderately liked on a 9-point hedonic scale). Unexpectedly, the paprika-flavored chip was the least acceptable to consumers and fell into the “dislike” portion of the 9-point scale. Regardless of the seasoning flavor applied, all samples were similar in terms of texture and crispiness approval scores. Our results suggested that target crispiness was achieved, as a satisfactory majority of consumers (74.78% to 80.87% across samples) perceived the crispiness of the catfish skin chips as “just about right.”

Consumers associated the catfish skin chip samples with positive-valence emotions: interested (55%–59% consumers), good (45%–52%), pleasant (30%–40%), adventurous (23%–29%), good-natured (21%–30%), happy (22%–35%) and active (14%–28%). The emotions “adventurous and interested” are related to food-evoked sensation-seeking emotions, implying consumers’ desire for new eating experiences.

Catfish Skin Chips Study Demographics

115 participants

56% male | 44% female

45% Identified as non-Hispanic white

32% Identified as Hispanic or Latino

57% ages 18–25 | 30% ages 26–35

After an informational cue that read “The consumption of catfish skin will help to reduce food waste and support food sustainability” had been given to consumers, the overall liking score increased from 6.2 to 6.6, while the positive purchase intent increased by 12% from 50% to 62%. Furthermore, consumers reported feeling more adventurous, daring, interested and wild. Higher levels of these sensation-seeking emotions have been associated with increased willingness to consume new food products.

In conclusion, the research team successfully transformed catfish skin into a crispy chip with attractive color and well perceived texture and crispiness. The barbecue seasoning was the most promising flavor for catfish skin chips. The results indicated positive attitudes toward health and sustainability impacts of waste-to-value seafood product development, which increased not only product acceptance but also intensity of food-evoked sensation-seeking emotions and behavioral intent. This finding may be useful in communicating the benefits of new products to consumers which can motivate trial of catfish skin chips.

Witoon Prinyawiwatkul is a professor of sensory sciences in the LSU AgCenter School of Nutrition and Food Sciences. Silvia Murillo, a senior research scientist at The Hershey Company, was a graduate research assistant with the LSU AgCenter Sensory Services Lab. Ryan Ardoin is a food scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans. Evelyn Watts is an associate professor and the seafood extension specialist at the LSU AgCenter.

This article appears in the spring 2026 edition of Louisiana Agriculture.

Catfish bones were dried and ground into powder to study whether consumers would approve of fried catfish fillets that were supplemented with catfish bone powder, which increases calcium and reduces waste. Provided photo

A study sought to find how consumers would appreciate catfish fried with a batter that included catfish bone powder. Catfish fillet strips were dredged with cornmeal seasoning mixes containing 0%, 10% and 20% catfish bone powder before deep-frying. Provided photo

A study sought to find how consumers would appreciate catfish fried with a batter that included catfish bone powder. Catfish without supplemented bone powder was served as a control in the study. Provided photo

A study at the LSU AgCenter Sensory Services Laboratory sought to learn whether consumers would appreciate chips made from crisped catfish skin. The chips were flavored with paprika (a), lemon pepper (b) and barbecue (c) seasonings. One chip was left unflavored. Provided photos