CHANGES IN PROTEIN FUNCTION OF SARDINES STORED IN ICE WITH AND WITHOUT ADDED SALT

In some Southern European countries, it is common practice to add varying quantities of salt to the ice used to cool and preserve the sardine, so as to improve its texture and allow longer storage. Considering that sardine stored in this way may be used in the manufacture of a number of different products, the effects of salt in the ice were investigated, with reference to functional properties such as protein solubility (PS), emulsifying capacity (EC) and apparent viscosity (ηapp). The added salt significantly increased (P≦0.05) the salt content of the muscle, bringing about an initial reduction in protein solubility and a decrease in EC and ηapp as storage time progresses. In the absence of salt, these two functional properties remain constant or are enhanced. Thus, although salt permits prolonged storage, protein functions are reduced in sardine treated in this way to that in non-salted sardine, making the salted sardine is less suitable for subsequent use in different technological processes. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.