Determination of the shelf life of marinated sardine (Sardina pilchardus) stored at 4 °C

The shelf life of marinated sardine (Sardina pilchardus) was investigated. The fish were headed, gutted, filleted and immersed into marination solutions containing 2% or 4% acetic acid and 10% NaCl for 24 h. After the marination process, the fish were removed from the solutions, transferred into glass jars, covered with sunflower oil and stored at 4 °C. Sensory, chemical (total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), trimethylamine (TMA-N), pH) analyses were performed during the storage. TVB-N and TMA-N values significantly increased during the storage. While there were significant differences between acetic acid concentrations of 2% and 4% for TVB-N values, TMA-N values in the solution of 2% were higher than in 4%. As for pH values, differences between acetic acid concentrations were insignificant. Both of TVB-N and TMA-N values were lower than acceptable limits during the storage of 150 days but sensory scores showed unacceptable values after 120 days