Evaluation of Spoilage for Cured Whale Meat

Volatile acid and indol were determined as to the judgment of quality for the cured whale meat from Antarctic waters. The analytical results are well agreed with organoleptic examination and the to correlation between volatile acid and volatile basic nitrogen is also significantly confirmed (Correlation coefficient was 0.85). This fact will be reasonably explained that the amount of volatile acid corresponds to that of ammonia nitrogen as the result of deamination of amino acids. It was disclosed by Behrens method that in the post-spoilage of the cured meat, lower volatile acid such as formic possesses major part among total acids, while higher acid like iso-valeric is encountered in the cured meat of fancy grade. Thus, in addition to quantitative determination, it will be necessary to detect each volatile acid, especially formic acid, as effective method for the inspection of cured whale meat. Indol test can be also recommended as serviceable way for evaluating spoilage of the cured meat.