Extending the Shelf Life of Set Fish Ball

Set fish ball is an extruded surimi‐based product that is popular in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries. Oversetting of set fish ball occurs at chilled temperature during storage. Shelf‐life extension of set fish ball by reducing oversetting conditions and microbial counts were examined. Encapsulated citric acid (CT) and glucono‐delta‐lactone (GDL) were used to reduce oversetting. Acetic acid, GDL and chitosan were used to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Shelf life was measured for a period of 21 days at 4C. At day 21, a reduction of 46, 56 and 26% in breaking force compared with the control (without additives) was observed for 0.5% GDL, 1.0% GDL and CT, respectively. GDL at 1.0% was shown to be the most effective in controlling the oversetting of set gel. Chitosan (1%) dissolved in acetic acid maintained both aerobic plate and yeast counts at < 1 log cfu/g throughout 21 days of storage .