Characteristics of Browning in Packaged Saki-ika (Shredded Dried-squid) During Storage

Abstract

Saki-ika, made from raw squid, is soft in texture and white in color. This whiteness is an important parameter for evaluating the quality of saki-ika. However, the color of saki-ika made from flying squid, Ommastrephes bartrami, turns from white to brown when exposed to air and is also influenced by temperature. The purpose of this study was to clarify the conditions under which browning occurs in soft saki-ika.
It was found that the color of packaged saki-ika turned from white to yellowish brown after exposure to oxygen, or to red under oxygen-free conditions, and that this was dependent upon increased storage temperature. Furthermore, the red color of saki-ika is accelerated under oxygen-free conditions and inhibited when oxygen levels are increased.
In addition, the effect of different processing conditions on the extent of browning in saki-ika stored was investigated. During storage, the color of raw unblanched saki-ika samples changed markedly and the a* values (intensity of the red color) were observed to increase more than twice that of blanched and blanched-dried samples irrespective of raw meat species. These findings indicated that the compounds, or their precursors, that are responsible for browning are already present in the raw meat. Furthermore, these compounds appeared to increase in response to the action of certain enzymes during storage in the raw meat sample system, and that these enzymes can be inactivated by heating.