Abstract
Sorbic acid has been used as antiseptic for fish sausage, since the use of AF-2 [2-(furyl)-3-(5-nitro-2-furyl) acrylamide], which had been one of the effective preservatives for fish sausage, was prohibited in July of 1974. Therefore, the preservative effects of sorbic acid for fish sausage was reinvestigated in connection with pH value and storage temperature of the sausage. The results obtained are as follows.
1) At storage temperature of 30°C, the shelf life of fish sausage with the pH values of lower than 5.9 was about one week. Additions of sorbic acid to the sausages at the level of 0.1 and 0.2% prolonged their shelf lives for one and two weeks respectively.
2) At storage temperature of 10°C, the sausages with about 6.2 of pH did not show any sign of spoilage for the test period of 7 weeks without regard to the addition of sorbic acid. The same results were obtained at the elevated storage temperature of 15°C.
3) From these results, it was presumed that fish sausages added at the level of 0.2% of sorbic acid could be preserved for at least two months at about 10°C, if the pH is adjusted to the suitable pH range in which sorbic acid shows effective bacteriostatic action.
