MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. Ill 



deviled sardines which had been processed at 240° F. for from one 

 to two hours also contained bacteria. It is difficult to properly 

 sterilize products of this nature. Before attempting to prepare 

 them, experimental packs should be made to determine, by bacterio- 

 logical control, the time and temperature necessary to insure complete 

 sterilization. It would be unsafe to try to market a canned product 

 unless it was sterile. 



A product as easy of preparation as the deviled sardines, but 

 superior in flavor and quality, was prepared from the square or 

 rectangular sections of meat obtained by carefully splitting the 

 waste pieces of the fish down the backbone, thus dividing it into two 

 sections, and leaving the bone and a portion of the viscera. These 

 sections were neatly packed in sanitary cans and sardine cans, and 

 covered with a sour spiced vinegar. A sweet spiced vinegar used for 

 a small pack was found to be unsuitable for this purpose. 



The cans and contents were processed by first venting and heating 

 for 20 minutes at 220° F., then closing the vent and again heating 

 the cans at 220° F. for 30 minutes. Examination was not made to 

 see if complete sterilization was effected. 



Fertilizer. 



The waste residue from fish and whole inedible fish have long been 

 used in the manufacture of pomace or fish scrap, to be incorporated 

 in commercial fertilizers. One of the sardine packing companies at 

 Eastport operates a reduction plant for the pressing and drying of 

 waste from the packing houses for a fertilizer ingredient. To supply 

 the fertilizer factory this company also purchases the raw waste mate- 

 rial from several of the other canneries in the vicinity of Eastport 

 and Lubec. This plant is housed in a substantial concrete structure, 

 is well equipped, and manufactures a very good grade of fertilizer 

 fish scrap. Prior to the season of 1915 this was the only instance 

 along the coast where a concerted effort was made to utilize the waste 

 as a by-product of the canning of sardines. During the two following 

 packing seasons, however, another company was organized to produce 

 fish scrap for fertilizer from the waste. 



Fish Meal. 



Fish meal as a source of protein has been used to a large extent in 

 foreign countries as a supplementary food for stock. It has been 

 used to a very limited extent in this country, and then principally as 

 the protein basis for poultry foods. The use of fish meal in feeding 

 stock and poultry is increasing. A discussion of the use of fish meal 

 for animal feeding and the results of feeding experiments conducted 

 with fish meal made from the sardine waste, the preparation of which 

 is here discussed, has already been published (36). 



