A Biochemical Method to Identify Irradiated Semi-dried Anchovies Stolephorus commersonii

Abstract

Gamma-irradiated (5kGy) semi-dried Anchovies (Stolephorus commersonii) along with unirradiated samples stored at room temperature for a period of 2 and 5 months were subjected to microbiological analysis to examine spoilage indices such as total volatile acids (TVA) and total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN) after inoculation of the fish homogenates with natural microflora, Aeromoms hydrophila, Bacillus megateium, Pseudomoms marinoglutinosa and Salmonella typhimurium. The incubation period for the determination of TVA and TVBN was 18 h at S/'C. In comparison to control fish, irradiated fish showed consistently lower TVBN and TVA values. These results suggested that determination of TVBN and TVA values could serve as an index to identify irradiated and unirradiated semi-dried anchovies.