Quality Changes in Alaska Pollack Meat Paste (“Surimi”) during Frozen Storage

Some attempts were made to find the reasonable conditions of frozen storage of Alaska pollack meat paste (“surimi”). Small blocks of Alaska pollack surimi were kept frozen at -20°, -30°, -40°, -60° and —80°C for one year and changes in muscle protein composition, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic and ultracentrifugal sedimentation patterns of muscle protein fractions, and gel (kamaboko)-forming ability were followed at due intervals. At — 20°C, myofibrillar proteins were gradually denatured, resulting in decreases of extra-ctability and gel-forming ability, and in changes of ultracentrifugal pattern. At — 30°C, denaturation of those proteins proceeded much more slowly than at — 20°C. In contrast, no or little denaturation of myofibrillar proteins occurred below — 40°C. It was concluded that — 30°C is the most reasonable temperature for a short term storage up to several months, whereas —40°C is preferable for a long term storage up to one year.