Attempts were made to use sodium bicarbonate as an accelerator in detoxification of toxic puffer ovaries during pickled product processing, which is rather common in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
Fresh ovaries of a puffer, “mafugu”Fugu vermicularis porphyreus were divided into three portions, sprinkled with a solid salt mixture containing O, 3.3 or 6.6% NaHCO₃, and were stored for seven months, followed by one-year pickling with rice bran. Samples were taken at each step and assayed for toxicity, pH, VBN, etc.
The results obtained showed that the detoxification during the process was most marked when the solid salt containing 6.6% NaHCO₃ was used for sprinkling. In addtion, organoleptic tests demonstrated that the pickled product thus processed did not differ from the one prepared according to the usual method, with respect to taste, flavor and appearance.