Kentucky State University
Sugar Modifies the Water Activity and Water Phase Salt Content of Smoked Paddlefish Meat
Institution
Kentucky State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Changzheng Wang; Lingyu Huang; Cecil Butler
Abstract
The Food and Drug Administration requires that smoked fish contains a minimum of 3.5% water phase salt to ensure the water activity of the product is low enough to inhibit the growth of C. botulinum. The objective was to determine the effects of sugar added to the brining solution on the water activity and water phase salt content of smoked whole paddlefish. Three paddlefish each were brined in a 15% salt solution with 92.5g, 185g or 370g of sugar per gallon of brine in a vacuum tumbler for 1hr. At the end of the brining, fish were rinsed in tap water and left to dry at 4o C overnight. They were hot smoked until the internal temperature reached 145oC for 30 min. After cooling down in a refrigerator, the smoked fish were vacuum-packed and stored at -20C before analysis. The water activity of fish brined with 92.5g sugar was above the safe range. Added sugar tended to reduce the salt content of the smoked fish meat, but kept the water activity below 0.95. The results indicate that adding sugar into the brining solution may help to reduce water activity and avoid extreme saltiness without compromising safety of smoked fish products.
Sugar Modifies the Water Activity and Water Phase Salt Content of Smoked Paddlefish Meat
The Food and Drug Administration requires that smoked fish contains a minimum of 3.5% water phase salt to ensure the water activity of the product is low enough to inhibit the growth of C. botulinum. The objective was to determine the effects of sugar added to the brining solution on the water activity and water phase salt content of smoked whole paddlefish. Three paddlefish each were brined in a 15% salt solution with 92.5g, 185g or 370g of sugar per gallon of brine in a vacuum tumbler for 1hr. At the end of the brining, fish were rinsed in tap water and left to dry at 4o C overnight. They were hot smoked until the internal temperature reached 145oC for 30 min. After cooling down in a refrigerator, the smoked fish were vacuum-packed and stored at -20C before analysis. The water activity of fish brined with 92.5g sugar was above the safe range. Added sugar tended to reduce the salt content of the smoked fish meat, but kept the water activity below 0.95. The results indicate that adding sugar into the brining solution may help to reduce water activity and avoid extreme saltiness without compromising safety of smoked fish products.