Studying the Effects of Fish Muscle Incorporation on Storage Stability of a Novel Corn‐fish Snack

Abstract

AbstractTo investigate the effect of minced fish incorporation on storage stability of a puffed corn‐fish snack, treatments including 15% silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) meat and 85% corn (seasoned and unseasoned) were produced by a twin screw extruder. The peroxide values (PVs) of treatments increased (P < 0.05) with storage time and reached a peak in the 12th week, then the values declined following a quadratic model. The fish was the least significant factor (P < 0.05), meaning that incorporation of minced fish slightly affected the PV. Conversely, the seasoning was the most significant factor (P < 0.05) followed by storage time. The total volatile base nitrogen and free fatty acid concentration of treatments increased linearly during storage. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was found for crispiness and color. Also, no microbial growth was observed during storage. The storage stability of the seasoned corn‐fish snack and the control was obtained 28 and 33 weeks, respectively.Practical ApplicationsStarch‐based snacks are widely used. They are high in calories and low in protein. Our previous study has developed a novel extruded puffed corn‐fish snack by incorporation of fish muscle (silver carp) and corn grits using extrusion technology to improve the nutritional properties of the ordinary corn snacks and to add value to silver carp, an underutilized fish species in Iran. To commercialize the product, studying the effect of fish meat incorporation on storage stability of the developed puffed corn‐fish snack and determining the shelf life are required.