Sanitary quality characterization of commercial salted semi-dried brown croaker

Abstract

Salted semi-dried brown croaker, Miichthys miiuy, has been proposed as a palatable seafood in Korea due to its specific texture, taste, and nutritional content. This study was conducted to characterize the sanitary quality of commercial salted semi-dried brown croaker for the development of high quality salted semi-dried products. The chemical properties ranged from 64.2 to 77.1% (mean 74.7±3.5%) for moisture content, from 2.1 to 9.5% for salinity, from 14.1 to 58.1 mg/100 g for volatile basic nitrogen, and from 19.1 to 107.2 meq/kg for peroxide values. The viable cell counts and Escherichia coli were 4.2~8.3 log(CFU/g) [mean: 6.2 log(CFU/g)] and 18>~4.6 log(MPN/100 g), respectively. The chemical and microbial results of commercial salted semi-dried brown croaker suggest that provisions should be established for development of high quality salted semi-dried products.