Studies on the radiation preservation of fish I. The Effect on Certain Vitamins in Fresh Fillets of Cod and Dogfish and in Smoked Fillets of Cod and Herring

Abstract

The effect of radiopasteurization (0.3 Mrad) and radiosterilization (3.0 Mrad) on certain vitamins in canned fresh fillets of cod and dogfish and in vacuum packed smoked cod and herring, were studied. The effect of post-irradiation storage of the samples at appropriate temperatures on the vitamin contents was determined. Some differences between vitamin sensitivity to irradiation and storage among the various fish samples studied were noted. Thiamine was found to be most sensitive to both irradiation and storage of non irradiated samples. Irradiated samples lost little or no thiamine upon storage. Riboflavin was more sensitive to storage than to irradiation. Niacin and vitamin B12 were not appreciably affected by irradiation or storage. Vitamin A appeared to be more radiosensitive in smoked than in fresh fish. Thus a sample of dogfish retained 50 percent of the vitamin A content after irradiation with 3.0 Mrad. Vitamin E was not affected by the radiation doses employed in the fish samples investigated.