China develops boneless grass carp chips

Scientists created a new breed of grass carp with only a backbone and ribs, reducing the risk of choking when eating fish.

Fish bones stuck in the throat are one of the common reasons why people have to go to the emergency department or clinic in Asian countries. To overcome this problem, the research team at Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, created a new breed of grass carp without splinters or bones between the muscles, ECNS reported on March 20. believe.

Adult grass carp. (Photo: Dezidor/Wikipedia)

Grass carp is a popular freshwater fish in Asia, steamed or grilled to produce tender and delicious meat. However, they have many small bones that can easily get stuck in the eater's upper digestive tract. The research team, led by professor Gao Zexia, manager of the molecular breeding laboratory at the College of Fisheries of Huazhong Agricultural University, overcame this problem by developing new fish breeds.

Adult grass carp usually have more than 100 bones. Meanwhile, the new breed of grass carp has no bones, only backbone and ribs . Fractures, which are essentially ossified tendons in the diaphragm, are often thin and pointed. Many popular farmed fish in the world have bone chips, especially large freshwater fish such as grass carp, silver crucian carp and sea bream, which are commonly farmed in China.

Low farming costs combined with high nutritional value have made herbivorous grass carp the most farmed fish in China in recent years. In 2022, China's annual grass carp production will reach 6 million tons, accounting for 1/5 of the country's freshwater fish production. However, many bone chips are a drawback.

Li Mingcheng, a student at the College of Food Science and Technology of Huazhong Agricultural University, tasted the boneless fish and said the meat was more tender . New fish varieties also do not lose nutritional value.

Gao has been researching boneless fish farming since 2012, when he received his doctorate. After more than 10 years of efforts, Gao and his colleagues identified the key gene that controls the development of bone chips in fish and developed the first boneless seabream in 2022.

According to Gao, it usually takes 2-3 generations to develop a 100% boneless fish breed. Through a continuous screening process, only boneless individuals are used to breed the next generation . "If there are no bones, you don't need to worry about eating fish ," Gao shared about his motivation.