Protein hydrolysates from white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) with different degrees of hydrolysis (DH-10 and 20%) were prepared using the enzymes Alcalase 2.4 L and Protamex. The hydrolysates were evaluated for amino acid composition, solubility, foaming properties, emulsifying and antioxidant activity. All the hydrolysates showed high concentrations of Glutamic Acid, Aspartic acid, Arginine, Glycine, Lysine, Proline. It was found that the increase in the production of negatively charged amino acids was related to increase in DH. The hydrophobic amino acids were higher for hydrolysates obtained with Alcalase (10% DH) and Protamex (20% DH). The results indicated that higher degree of hydrolysis showed positive relation with the protein solubility of the hydrolysates, while negatively influenced foam and emulsification properties. The antioxidant properties presented by the white shrimp protein hydrolysates were influenced by the composition and peptides size. Hydrolysates with higher peptide chain showed the highest antioxidant power for the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging and reducing power, while hydrolysates with lower peptide chain showed higher antioxidant power for 2,2 0 -azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline sulfonic acid) radical scavenging. All hydrolysates showed dose-dependent antioxidant activities. Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that white shrimp is a potential source of protein hydrolysates as bioactive ingredients for the use in the formulation of functional foods as well as natural antioxidants in lipid food systems.

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This study aimed to evaluate the acceptance of fish meatballs introduced into the lunch of 132 6‐ to 14‐year‐old students at a public school in Brazil. Responses were obtained using a seven‐point facial hedonic scale and the word association method was used to determine children's cognitive perception of the product. We used multinomial logistic regression to evaluate the effects of age and gender on the acceptance of fish meatballs and established a predictive model for different acceptance levels. The technique known as correspondence analysis was used to verify the relationship between the acceptance rates or student's age with the terms that emerged during the word association. Results showed that age was significantly and inversely correlated with the acceptance of fish meatballs. The cognitive evaluation of the word association results through the word association technique demonstrated that the preferences of the younger students are given by the appearance of the fish meatballs, and, in as they grow older, their cognitions become more abstract. We found that the word association can be effectively used for cognitive assessment in children, and fish meatballs proved to be a potentially accepted food in school meals of the Brazilian public education. Practical Applications Fish is considered as a high nutritional value food in the diet. However, it has low acceptance among children. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the attributes and insights that lead the children to accept a fish‐based product.