Effects of tyndallization temperature on the sterility and quality of kamaboko.

In this study, kamaboko gels were tyndallized at various temperatures and sterilization efficiency and impact on quality parameters were assessed. The microbiological, physical, and chemical properties of kamaboko gels were determined throughout the tyndallization process. Superior sterilization efficiency was achieved by tyndallization at a higher temperature; and the combination of heat-induced germination and thermal inactivation of spores was proposed as the main reason. The process had minimal effect on the color of gels. While tyndallized gels heated at 80 °C possessed superior physical properties, all gels showed impaired quality with the progress of heating cycles. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed that the cause of alterations in quality differed depending on the processing temperature. This study suggests that the sterility of products could be improved by increasing the processing temperature, time or number of heating cycle.