STUDIES ON THE PREPARATION AND UTILIZATION OF HOG SMALL INTESTINE II. EFFECT OF SALTING LEVEL ON THE QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL CASINGS

This study was carried out to examine the salting and desalting of small casings from hog and to determine the shelf-life during cold storage. The concentration of salt in the casings equilibrated with that of the added salt after 1 day for 10%, after 2 days for 20% after 7 days for 40% salting level. During desalting at 15 and $30^{\circ}C$, residual salt concentrations in the casings decreased to less than 1% after 1 hour for 10% salt, after 12 hours for 20% salt and after 24 hours for 40% salt. The total colony count of the freshly prepared casing was about log10 4.2. The initial microflora of the prepared casings was dominated by lactic acid bacteria. The higher the salting level, the greater the microbial growth was suppressed during 6 months of storage at refrigerator temperature ($4^{\circ}C$). A salt content of 20% is satisfactory if the casings are being stored for less than 1 month before being used.