Characteristics of fish sauce made from pacific whiting and surimi by-products during fermentation stage

The fermentation condition for producing Pacific whiting fish sauce was static atmospheric fermentation with 25% salt at 50°C. The effective enzymes in fermentation were heat stable and salt tolerant. Fermentation at 50 °C gave higher yields than at 35 °C. Total nitrogen content of whole fish fermented at 50 °C reached the equivalent level of commercial fish sauce before 15 d, supporting the strong degradation effects of Pacific whiting enzymes at earlier stages. Soluble solid and relative gravity also reached commercial level at 60 d. However, color value of unripened fish sauce was far from commercial fish sauce, indicating that ripening may be necessary to develop proper color. Staphylococcus, Bacillus, and Micrococcus were found as predominant microorganisms during fermentation.