The proximate composition of fried clam meat is given
in Table 2. The physical properties of the indigenous retort
pouch used are given in Table 3. These pouches have high
tensile strength in both machine and cross direction, which
is satisfactory for withstanding the rigors of heat processing
in over pressure autoclave. The bursting strength of
the pouch was 21 psig, which meets the prescribed standards.
The overall migration residue when determined with
water extractives at 121 C for 2 h and heptane extraction
at 66 C for 2 h was found to be 0.80 mg/dm2 and
3.64 mg/dm2, respectively, which are well below the limits
specified for food contact application (FDA, 1983; IS:
9845, 1981). Residual air after processing is below 2% only
indicating the effectiveness of vacuum inside the pouch.
The recommended F0 value for fish and fish products
ranges from 5–20 (Frott & Lewis, 1994). Preliminary trials
indicated that processing at F0 of 9 gave a product with
good textural and nutritional properties, hence the clams