70 • BULLETIN" 908, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table 29. — Temperature of inside of can of sardines processed with regular lot. 



N ear center of boil- 

 ing tank.i 



Near surface of 

 water in boiling 

 tank.2 



Time. 



Temper- 

 ature. 



Time. 



Temper- 

 ature. 



p. m. 

 12.25 

 12.35 

 12.42 

 12.46 

 ■12.48 

 12.50 



° C. 

 36 

 47 

 88 

 94.5 

 99 

 100 



a. m. 



8.30 

 8.35 

 8.40 

 8.46 

 8U8 

 8.50 

 8.52 

 8.54 

 8.58 

 9.10 



° C. 



26 

 36 

 45 

 71 

 80 

 91 

 99 

 99 

 99 

 99.25 



i This boiling tank was provided with a board cover which was lowered while processing the cans. The 

 water was heated by steam passing through pipes in bottom of tank. It boiled freely during the period 

 these temperatures were measured. 



2 Tank uncovered, heated by direct steam. 



The length of time required to reach the boiling point varies with 

 certain conditions commonly found. In this method of processing it 

 is very important that the cans be completely submerged during the 

 entire period. Since it was found that sardines were not alwaj^s 

 uniformly sterile, it would be safer to process for the longer periods 

 of time. 



STORING THE SARDINES. 



A portion of each year's pack of sardines is stored for varying 

 periods of time and under varying conditions before it reaches the 

 consumer. When held by the packers the sardines are subjected to 

 the rigid winters of Maine, as no suitable warehouse exists for storage, 

 advantage being taken of cellars, wherever available. When shipped 

 they are often frozen, only to be thawed out again upon coming into 

 a warmer region, where they may be held at terminals or warehouses 

 having relatively high temperatures. Finally, they may remain upon 

 the retailer's shelves for some time, under varying temperature 

 conditions. 



Certain differences in the composition of canned sardines, when 

 analyses were made directly after processing and after standing for 

 different periods of time led to an investigation of the changes occur- 

 ring in sardines kept under varying conditions of storage. 



Formation of Ammonia and Amines. 



The values for ammoniacal nitrogen in fresh and decomposed fish 

 as determined by the Nessler method did not agree with the results 

 obtained by the titration method. Noticeable increases in the 

 amount of total ammoniacal material in packs of fish which had 

 stood for a time over the amount of such material found in the same 

 packs directly after being processed were also apparent. 



