CA2063706A1 - De-bacterialized fish and improved method for the production of same - Google Patents

Abstract

DE-BACTERIALIZED FISH AND IMPROVED METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SAME
Abstract This invention is a method for obtaining a considerable increase in the storage life of raw produce such as fish, shellfish and meat without the addition of preservatives. The raw produce (fish fillet) is immersed in a flavoured solution containing salt or other spices or spice mixture. In two opposing walls of the tub are placed a pair of electromagnets to which a chopped DC-vol-tage is applied. The fillet is then rinsed in well circulating water is is air-dried in a special room. The fillet is vacuumized and heated up to between 80 and 90°C and maintained as this temperature for a period of time varying between 1- to 145 minutes according to the type of raw produce. The fillet is then refrigerated to a temperature below 5°C.

Description

10~9 ?p~ J3J~

r)E-BAcTEF~IALI~ED FISH AND IMPROV13D ~ETHO~
THE P}~ODuCTION OF S~E
Th~ inventiorl relatas to a m~hod conE;istin~ o~
pre- ~nd po~t-tr~atment of vacuum~p~cked ~i~h, hell~i~h and meat with all ~i~ to incre~se storage li~ ~on6i-d~r~ly and ~o pre~erve all the n~tural nutri~nts and :eatty sub~tances intaet,.
T~roughout tAe age~ long-~erm s~orage o~ foodstuf~
10 haQ preoccup~d m~nkind f or simple r~3on~; of ~urvival, arld out of the need ~o store 1~4rge catches and c:rops o~
varlous ~oodstu~f~ ~io a~; to portion t~ese out over B
certain period of time. It is n~cessary to have a ready supply o~ ~ood in store for the ~ason~ when 5uc3~
15 ~ood~;tuff~i c~nnot be fiE;h~c~, hun ed or h~rv~5ted. One of ~he probl~ns of long-te~n ~torage of oodstu~f ~ is the los~ of quallty relate~d to the storage ~ime. This i~3 part~ ~ularly rel~van~ as re~rds long-term stora~e of ~resh fish, sh~ ish ~nd meat.
2Q ~umerous m~thods are u~ed to increase the ~torelge ~ife o~ odstu~Ys, i~or ex~nple ~ryir~ oiling, curing, chemical ~dditives, re~igeratioh, deep-fre~zing, radiation treat~en'c, ~tc.
M~ny ~;~ch conv~r~ing methods ~lter the con~istenoy 25 o~ the raw produ~e to ~ ~ta~e which is no l~rlger r~wr ~his will therefc~r~ limit the varl~tion6~ llable wh~n preparin~ ~he p~oduc:e ~or meal. ~A boiled ~i&h can nn longer be ~ried, and vlc:e ver~a ~ . Chemical addi tives and radiatlon ~ea~ment may have adverse eff~acts on the 30 p~odu~e, ~nd the produc~'s smell~ tas~e and consi~ten~y will no longer have the 5~uali~ies ~xpected ~rom the raw produce. M~ny pr~cerving me~hods a~e such that the ~ature of the raw produce'6 qual~ty will be altered.
5uppliers and con~sumer~ wiBh ~or ~ c:onsiderably 35 longe~ sto~age life fo~ raw produce wi~hout this a~e~tlng the ta~te, smell and nu~ritive value of the produce, that is to ~ay itg ~uality. The u~e of cheml~al ~3~37~
W~ ~l~UlUX'~ P~r/N(~0/00120 z additiv~s to prolong ~;torage lire heing a he~lkh haz~rd, such methods cannot ~e consiclered as a valid alternatiye in thi3 ~ase. Prolonging storage life will have ~a~o~
economic ~ene~its as re~arc~s wasta~e, sales pric~ and prof it~ y .
U~e ~E ~he method here disclosed ~o~ preservih~ r~w f i8h, shell~iSh and m~at yives a gtor2lge life wl~i~h i: 2 ~o ~ times lon~er than that obtained by todAy 7 S h~own methods. An ln~rea5e in stor~g life is ac~hieved Witho~t lU ~he addition of ohe~lliç~ls or the u~P o~ radiation, ~nd wlthout any o~her pretequisit~e than low tempPr~ture for stora~e of th~ produc:~.
~h~: aim i ~chieved by starting wit}~ raw produce c: f the high~ast quali~y . The raw produce is, ~acuu~n packed, 1~ the~ he pa~kas~e ls heated ~p to a tempera~ure ne~essary ~ l;ill the bacte~ia which ~ay induce deterioration of the pro~luce.
Th~: details of the metl~od will appe~r ~ora the des~;ription whlch f ollo~s .
In ~h~ f c~llowi~g d~scription o~ the aaethod ~o~
lonq-term converting c~f fr~h :~od~tuffs, a r~w ~ish flllet is used as an exa~nple, ~ut the method gives good result~ if applied to l~rger pieces or ~ish, shellf ish or ~cat .

2$ Applic:~tion o~ the ~ethod on the f ish f illet involves ~he :eollowin~ proce~is:

) The cell walls in the flesh ~f the fish are alt~ed 30 ~3 to prevent penetration of d~cay-~0 generating bac~eria in~o the c~ll.

2~ The structure of the e~zymes insid~ t~e cell isal~ered ~o that the c~ll it~el~ is pre~ent~d fro~ initiating sel~-destructive ~ctivity.

2 ',~ 7 ~ i~
W~ 9~ PCr/~10~0/~V121) ~le ~ n~ t r'l~h f il l~-t ar~iv~ t7ro~n the:
lns~ tion table on ~ convey~r belt and i3 i~m~r~;ed ~or lO tG 30 minut~s in~o a subcooled Ela~oured ~lui~
oon~isting Or a ~aturated ~pice s~olu~ion~ This m~y ~e ~e~
~al~ , miner~l ~alt ( c~loium chloride ), ~pioe salt , sug~r-6al~, ~ her~ mixture, etc. The purpoYe o~ this ls to prvvide the El~h illet with a P~a-vour additive, to proYid~ th~ basis ~or an irrever6ible alteration of the cell wall~s ts~aling), ~nd ~o ~lter the ~nzyme 6tru~ture 1~ sv as to pr~3verlt dec:ay inside the c~lls. qlo initi~te ~hi~
s~ruc~ure-altering proc~ss, a cho~ped l~ vol~ye i~
applied t~ a ~et o~ eleat~om~ne~s pl~ced in tlao Opposihg ver~ walls o~ the tu~ o~ f lavoured ~olution . Thi~
vo:L~age 1~ applied to the ~l~voured ~ol~tion fox up to 4 15 r~inutes. The chopped :eregllency c~an }3e alterecl, whiCh n~eans that treat~ent can be suited to va~ioug type of produce suc:h as ~i~h, meat, ete. ~o obt~in the be~t po~sible r~3~ult~. Thi~ tr~tment o~ the Pi~;h whil~ in the electrolytiQ ~iolU~ion alters ~.he tr~c~ m~n~s 1~ the ~0 cell E.o that enzym~ ac;tlvity which ~ener~t6~5 decay in the f ls~ i3 brought ~ a h~lt . In addition, t~e ~let::trolytic t~eAtment modii~ 'che sAlts in the ~ toured solu~ion 50 ~hat ~he exterr~l trace elements will al o inlliblt dec:ay-initlating ~nzy~e activity inside th~ cells.
~om~ined with the ~slDotic balance betwe~n the solution an~l the ~ell structu~e, the voltag~ appl~ed ~l~;o causes desi:cable al~ratiQns in ~he ~i~h f ~llet and inhi~its pen~tration o~ the c:ell tlall~ ~A bene~cial side e~ec:t is ~he de~truction of a numl~er o~ ~aGteria 0~ the ~i~h fillet ~urface~
Thi~ f d~cisive lmportarlce ~or the prqser~ring proo~:ss. If the salt ~lavour i~i to be reduced to a imum o~ totally re~o~red, the ~ish ~illet ~ay ~
flu~ihed in ~llstill~d t~ater arter leaving the flavoured 3S electrolytie solu~ion.

2~3&3~ ~3~
wn ~ r~c~ o~o/~012n After they have b~en taken up from the flavour~d ~la~trolytio ~olution, the ~ 3h ~i11QtS are drained ~nd ~ir-driOEd in a clo~ad room ba~orc b~ing p~eked ir~ 3tlc ~ays, and the paak6 2Ire vacut~ize~ indlvidually 4~
S c:olleeti~Rly. The ~iS h Xillets ar~3 vaGuumized a~ 7 kg vacuum pressure ~nlnimu~ ~his ~ill prev~nt ~he grow~h of ~robic: bac:teria ~bart~rl~ which ne~cl oxyg~n 1:o su~rive ) ~n~ will ~1~ int~in cn~c lnhi~ . Va~uulul~atlon ~lao contribute~ to st~bilizlng the pro~t~c~.
The Yacuumi~e~l f i~h ~ ets ~r~ then heated Up ~o a tempera~u~e of ~etween ~0 and ~O"C. The l~ng~h o~
treatmenk may vary ~rom 10 minutes to ~ hours ~nd 25 minlltes according to the type o;e r~ produoe u!3~d. Th~
heat trea~ment ~ onverting prs:~Gess ) also deprive~
n~r~bic ba~teria ~ those which can ~urvi~e~ without ~xy~:n ~ ~f tll~ir b~sis ~or slrnwt.h .
TraditionE~l bol liny or poachin~ of ~rQsh fish ~ille~ oause~ ~he ~:ells to bur t and ~he ~le~h o~ tlle ~ish ~ecomes ~n e~sier t~rget f or ~acteria . Th~ s or~ o~
20 h~at treatment does no l; ~a~ce the c:ell~ ~rst ~nd the bdcteri~ ~re not ~nly de~troyRd, but al60 lose ~ g~at deal of their ba~is f or ~rowth . The heating proaess m~
b0 slow or ~api~.
When the ~ sired ~emper~ture within th~ interval 25 mentloned ha~ he~:n obtain~d, i~ i9 maintained const~
for a certain period of tim~. The time nd tempera~ure will depend on ~he raw produce, i~s shape, ~ize, the ~ype of fi~h ~nd ~at con~ent~, ~ts. For ~xa~nple, the optimal temper~url3 fc~ l~on i~ 84c ~or 17 minu~s. The 30 example i~; given for a 300-g~am piece oiE cki~ned a,nd l~onRd s~l~non f ill~t.
Enzyme ac~ivity in ~he ~ish ~illet ~a~ now c~3sed, oxidation has been prev~nt~d and the fi~h fillet has b~en de-~a~teriallz~l. All decay-initiating act~Vity ha thUs ~5 been ~ro~ght ~o a h~lt.

2~37~J6 WO ~l/0108~ O

t~hen the hea~ tr~atmen~ procR~s is ove~, 'che f i~h ~i 1 lete~ ~re ~e~igerated to a -te~pe~atur~ b~l ow 5 C .
~ f~ thls t;reatment, the ~ish fillets ~re n~lther raw nor boiled in conslst~ncy. Hot,rever, thei~ t~OEte, 5 ~mell and oongistency will appear as 'chose o~ readily a~ la ~aw produ ;::e . The nutri6~ ontents is ~1 . c7 ~h~
0~ ~aw ~iSh.
The flnished prc~duct wil:L have a storage li~ of at least 12 w~e}~s in refrigerated sto~age. The product may 1~ be warmed up, fried, ~illed, baked in a ~ru~t., coated in br~ad c:rum~, marinated, deep-fried, or prepa~ed $n a mic~o~rave o~ . Th~ product may also be eaten cold E;t~aigh~ out of the pack. If ~he pack is ~rar~ned up unop~ned, the produ~ will ~as~e like ~:re~3~ly boiled 1~ ~eigh,

Claims (3)

1. An improved method for de-bacterializing raw fish, shellfish and meat (raw produce) c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the raw produce is immersed in a flavoured solution consisting of a saturated salt and/or spice solution, remains in said solution for a period of time between 10 and 30 minutes where it is subjected to the influence of electromagnets placed on two walls of the tub when to said electromagnets is applied a chipped DC-voltage for 4 minutes of the immersion time, after which the raw produce is removed from the solution and drained and air-dried in a closed room, then hermetically packed in an gas and fluid-tight package, vacuumized and heated up to a temperature in a range of 80 to 90°C and is maintained at that temperature for a period of time between 10 and 145 minutes, and is thereafter refrigerated to a temperature below 5°C.

2. An improved method for de-bacterializing raw fish, shellfish and meat in accordance with claim 1 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the flavoured solution contains one or several of such substances as sea salt, herb mixture, mineral salt (calcium chloride), herb salt, sugar salt, etc.

3. An improved method of the previous claims c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the flavouring substances may be added to the raw produce in any known manner during the smoke-curing process, after immersion in the flavoured solution but before packaging.