EFFECT OF DIFFERENT STORAGE METHODS ON SOME FUNCTIONAL-PROPERTIES OF SARDINE MUSCLE

Three different storage methods for sardine muscle: (1) in salt on board the fishing vessel and in ice after off-loading, (2) in ice from capture, and (3) after storage at ambient temperature in ice from off-loading, were studied. Storage in salt drastically altered the muscle, which lost its gel-forming capacity. Storage in ice from the time of capture maintained the gel-forming capacity for a longer length of time than when the fish were stored in ice only after off-loading. The electrophoretic profiles of the myofibrillar proteins extracted from the muscle stored in salt were quite distinct from those for the proteins from muscle stored using the other two methods, but all underwent changes during the study period.