Chemical studies on the herring (clupea harengus). III.—the lower fatty acids

The application of gas chromatography and paper chromatography to a study of the lower volatile fatty acids of herring is reported. Fresh herring flesh contained acetic acid with smaller quantities of formic acid and propionic acid, and occasionally a trace of n‐butyric acid. The quantities of all these acids increased in the spoiling fish, while isovaleric acid became apparent at the later stages. The presence of antibiotics did not affect the rate of production of the acids in fish held in ice. Heat processing at 115·5° in sealed cans did not alter the content of individual acids in the fish.