Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 156, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1918 — Food Value of Fish [ARTICLE]

Food Value of Fish

Extensive Use Recommended by Department of Agriculture

Further evidence that fish deserves p place in every diet was obtained from a recent series of digestion experiments in the United States department of agriculture. These tests furnished scientific proof that fish, which has always been reckoned as a valuable food, is very completely utilized in the body. In the experiments Boston mackerel, butterfish, salmon and grayfish—a variety not generally used in this country—were made into “fish loaves” and served as a basis of a simple mixed diet to young men of healthy appetites. Both the protein and the fat of the fish were well utilized. Following are the percentages of protein digested: Boston mackerel, 93.1 per cent; butterfish, 91.9 per cent; grayfish, 92.8 per cent; and salmon, 93.2 per cent. The percentages of fat digested were found to be: Boston mackerel, 95.2 per cent; butterfish, 86.4 per cent; grayfish, 94.3 per cent; salmon, 93.7 per cent. In addition tothe fish loaf, the diet included potatoes, crackers, fruit, sugar, and tea or coffee. On the average the subjects each day ate 440 grams of Boston mackerel, 471 grams of butterfish, 440 grams of grayfish, or .355 grams of salmon, indicating that in every case the fish was eaten with relish. The department recently has concluded an investigation of the commercial freezing and storing of fish, and a bulletin on that subject says that this method of preserving fish will hold them for many months in the condition in which they were received, but will not counteract deterioration due to previous heating or mishandling. Chemical analysis shows no significant changes in frozen fish held for 27 months —much longer than would be necessary or profitable in storing fish commercially.