MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 



73 



at a cannery, and had been only a short time in brine. After being 

 steamed and dried, under ordinary commercial conditions, these fish 

 were taken to the laboratory, where the heads were removed, and the 

 portion used for packing ground and thoroughly mixed. A repre- 

 sentative sample was reserved for analysis and the remainder was 

 packed in cans which were sealed and processed for If hours at 212° 

 F. Samples taken at varying periods were analyzed, with the results 

 shown in Table 32. 



Table 32.— Ammonia and amine content of sardines stored for short periods. 



Condition offish (ground 



Water. 



Fat. 



Total 

 volatile 

 nitrogen 



Volatile nitrogen (N) per 

 100 grams as — 



Percentage of 

 total as — 



flesh). 



(N) per 



100 

 grams. 



Total. 



Am- 

 monia. 



Amines. 



Am- 

 monia. 



Amines. 



Before packing in quarter oil 



Per cent. 

 67.01 



65. 75 



65.85 

 67.00 

 66.40 

 66.64 

 66.25 

 64.79 



Per cent. 

 9.07 



9.13 



9.02 

 8.72 

 8.69 

 8.18 

 9.23 

 9.93 



Mg. 

 14.0 



30.3 



42.0 

 47.8 

 52.5 

 55.0 

 55.6 

 69.0 



Mg. 



i 13.3 



139.7 



146.8 

 147.3 

 153.1 

 2 54.3 

 2 55.6 

 2 69.0 

 2 78.9 

 2 82.4 



Mg. 



7.4 



25.3 



27.2 

 22.6 

 24.2 

 25.9 

 19.1 

 35.8 

 41.3 

 44.0 



Mg. 

 5.9 



14.4 



19.6 

 24.7 

 28.9 

 28.4 

 36.5 

 33.2 

 37.6 

 38.4 



Per cent. 

 55.6 



63.6 



58.1 

 47.8 

 45.6 

 47.7 

 34.3 

 51.9 

 52.4 

 53.4 



Per cent. 

 44 4 



After packing and processing 

 If hours at 212° F 



After packing, processing, 

 and standing — 



36.4 

 41 9 





52 2 





54 4 





52.3 





65.7 





48.1 



36 months s 



47.6 



36 months * 









46.4 





1"" 





1 These determinations were made on the combined volatile alkaline nitrogen obtained from two 50-gram 

 samples. 



2 These determinations were made on the combined volatile alkaline nitrogen obtained from thirty 

 3-gram samples. 



3 Normal cpns. 



* Swell cans, springers. 



An increase in the amount of ammonia, with a corresponding 

 decrease in the relative amount of amines, occurred during the 

 processing. The actual amounts of both the ammonia and amines 

 increased. Standing caused a gradual increase in the amount of 

 total alkaline material obtained from the flesh, due to the formation 

 of amines, the ammonia content remaining fairly constant, with the 

 exception of the samples taken from the 6-months'-old pack, when a 

 decrease in the amount of ammonia was noted. 



The results expressed as percentage of the total volatile alkaline 

 material point more clearly to a reduction in the quantity of ammonia, 

 with a corresponding increase in the relative amount of amines, up 

 to and including the 6-month period of standing. 



The increase in total volatile material continued in the case of the 

 cans stored for 18 and 36 months. A more marked increase over the 

 amount found at the end of 6 months occurred during the last year 

 and a half. The incipient swell cans contained but a slightly greater 

 quantity of volatile alkaline material than the normal cans. The 

 separation of ammonia and amines in the volatile alkaline material 



