Studies on Formaldehyde in Gadaid Fish

Abstract

The authors examined trichloracetic acid extract of cod and Alaska pollack meat as to the substances which might interfere the color reaction of formaldehyde with acetylacetone and found no appreciable disturbance during the course of the determination.This method, originally proposed by Nash in 1953, was then applied to the examination of formaldehyde content of the frozen meat of cod and Alaska pollack. The amount of formaldehyde in back muscle of cod was in a range between 2 and 5mg% and in Alaska pollack, 3.7 to 5.7mg%, respectively. However, the formaldehyde content in the back muscle of these fishes was observed lower than that of skin or dark muscle portion.No remarkable change was noticed in the amount of formaldehyde in these fishes during cold storage at -20°C for six months. But, a slight increase in the formaldehyde content was shown in the sample of cod muscle after four weeks' storage at -5°C, which had been kept at -20°C for five months prior to store at -5°C.A decrease in the amount of formaldehyde was indicated in cod meat when the samples reached a stage of incipient spoilage under a temperature of 16°C and 3°C.The authors conclude that formaldehyde occurs spontaneously in the tissues of cod and Alaska pollack.