Set fish ball is an extruded surimi‐based product that is popular in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries. Oversetting of set fish ball occurs at chilled temperature during storage. Shelf‐life extension of set fish ball by reducing oversetting conditions and microbial counts were examined. Encapsulated citric acid (CT) and glucono‐delta‐lactone (GDL) were used to reduce oversetting. Acetic acid, GDL and chitosan were used to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Shelf life was measured for a period of 21 days at 4C. At day 21, a reduction of 46, 56 and 26% in breaking force compared with the control (without additives) was observed for 0.5% GDL, 1.0% GDL and CT, respectively. GDL at 1.0% was shown to be the most effective in controlling the oversetting of set gel. Chitosan (1%) dissolved in acetic acid maintained both aerobic plate and yeast counts at <1 log cfu/g throughout 21 days of storage.

Factors affecting floatation of fish ball in water were investigated. The density of threadfin bream (TB) surimi paste significantly decreased (P < 0.05) as moisture content, temperature, or salt concentration increased. The ability of surimi paste to float or sink in water was observed according to changes in density. In gel texture measurement, when surimi was thawed for 1 h before chopping at 5 °C with 2% salt, the highest breaking force and deformation values were obtained. Apparent viscosity of surimi paste decreased as moisture content increased or salt concentration increased, and chopping temperature decreased. Setting gels in salt solution (5 or 10%) significantly reduced (P < 0.05) stickiness, which is the tendency to stick to one another.

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