FOX DOBSON ET AL.: JOURNAL OF AOAC INTERNATIONAL VOL. 80, NO.

6, 1997 1267

Figure 3. DPFF vs APFF for raw breaded products.

Figure 4. PREC vs APFF for raw breaded products.

Figure 5. RSDr vs APFF for raw breaded products.

Figure 6. RSDR vs APFF for raw breaded products.

1268 FOX DOBSON ET AL.: JOURNAL OF AOAC INTERNATIONAL VOL. 80, NO. 6, 1997

Figure 7. DPFF vs APFF for batter-dipped products.

Figure 8. PREC vs APFF for batter-dipped products.

Figure 9. RSDr vs APFF for batter-dipped products.

Figure 10. RSDR vs APFF for batter-dipped products.

FOX DOBSON ET AL.: JOURNAL OF AOAC INTERNATIONAL VOL. 80, NO. 6, 1997 1269

Figure 11. DPFF vs APFF for precooked products.

Figure 12. PREC vs APFF for precooked products.

Figure 13. RSDr vs APFF for precooked products.

Figure 14. RSDR vs APFF for precooked products.

1270 FOX DOBSON ET AL.: JOURNAL OF AOAC INTERNATIONAL VOL. 80, NO. 6, 1997

Recommendation
Manufacturing processes are the primary factors affecting
the FFC of the final product. Properties of product forms (i.e.,
size, shape, smoothness of surfaces and edges), product styles
(i.e., raw breaded, precooked, batter dipped), and the oil and
glaze if applied are factors contributing to the effectiveness of
the method in decoating the product. The modified AOAC
method has reasonable accuracy and precision compared with
the on-line method.
The on-line method is used to determine FFC immediately
after product is battered and/or breaded and/or fried, whereas
the modified AOAC method is used to determine FFC after
product is battered and/or breaded and/or fried and subjected to
tunnel freezing and/or additional freezing and/or storage. Because many factors influence FFC during processing, it is unlikely that the modified AOAC method or any other end-product method accurately will reflect FFC as determined by the
on-line method. However, we believe that the modified AOAC
method accurately reflects the FFC that is present in the final
product.
On the basis of the results of this study, modification of the
official method does not adversely affect method accuracy and
precision. However, additional study of fully cooked products
is recommended. Only one fully cooked product was available
for this study. Because the product was manufactured from reformed fillet blocks, it was extremely difficult to scrape and
recover the still-frozen fish flesh. It is recommended that the
modified method for determination of FFC in frozen coated
fish products be adopted to replace AOAC Official
Method 971.13.
Acknowledgments
We sincerely thank those whose combined efforts have
made this collaborative study possible. The development and
completion of this study took approximately 6 years and only
through the joint efforts of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), National Fisheries Institute (NFI), and seafood industry members did it succeed.
We extend sincere gratitude to the following company representatives and employees for their time, cooperation, and
contributions and to the companies for providing the samples
used in this study:
William DiMento and employees, Fishery Products
International USA, Danvers, MA
Nelson Ferriera, Tom Veno, and employees, Fishery
Products International USA, Boston, MA
Margaret Malkoski and employees, Frionor USA, New
Bedford, MA
Howard Price and employees, National Sea Products
Incorporated, Portsmouth, NH
Herbert Ross (retired), Mary Wagner, and employees,
Gortons of Gloucester, Gloucester, MA

We are also grateful to:

Thomas Fazio (retired), Food and Drug Administration,
Washington, DC, for representing FDAs interests
Linda Giamanco, U.S. Department of Commerce,
Gloucester, MA, for data entry
Mark Harris and Troy Petrillo, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Gloucester, MA, for tracking, weighing, and
collecting samples
Jorge Laboy, U.S. Department of Commerce, Gloucester,
MA, for granting use of the National Training Branchs
training facility for the collaborative study
Robert Learson, U.S. Department of Commerce,
Gloucester, MA, for granting use of freezers for storage
Roy Martin and Robert Collette, National Fisheries
Institute, Inc., Arlington, VA, for acting as liaison between
industry and government
David Moisan, U.S. Department of Commerce,
Gloucester, MA, for granting temporary assignment (almost
1 full year) of two inspectors to the National Standards and
Specifications Branch
Cameron Prince, Department of Fisheries and Oceans,
Ottawa, Canada, for representing DFOs interests
James and Norman Stavis, North Coast Seafoods
Incorporated, Boston, MA, for dry ice and supplies needed
during transport
Dennis Wilson, Food and Drug Administration,
Washington, DC, for developing the SAS data entry program
and for general computer support
We are also grateful to the following collaborators:
Keith Dashiell, Coldwater Seafoods Corporation,
Cambridge, MD
Mark Harris, U.S. Department of Commerce, Gloucester, MA
Raymond Jones, National Sea Products Incorporated,
Portsmouth, NH
Eileen Maher, Food and Drug Administration, Winchester,
MA
Alan McGuire, Department of Fisheries and Oceans,
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
John Noonan, Food and Drug Administration, Winchester,
MA
Troy Petrillo, U.S. Department of Commerce, Gloucester, MA
Manon Picard, Department of Fisheries and Oceans,
Longueuil, Quebec, Canada
Cecilia Romero, Food and Drug Administration, Atlanta,
GA
Maria Sabia, Campbell Soup Company, Omaha, NE
References
(1) Learson, R. (1967) Breaded Fishery Products, Bureau of
Commercial Fisheries Technological Laboratory, Gloucester,
MA (unpublished)
(2) Anonymous (1956) Commer. Fish. Rev. 18, 8386
(3) Anonymous (1956) Commer. Fish. Rev. 18, 7880
(4) Frascatore, A. (1957) Commer. Fish. Rev. 19, 3033
(5) Anonymous (1960) Commer. Fish. Rev. 22, 6972
(6) Anonymous (1963) Commer. Fish. Rev. 25, 101102

FOX DOBSON ET AL.: JOURNAL OF AOAC INTERNATIONAL VOL. 80, NO. 6, 1997 1271
(7) Anonymous (1963) Commer. Fish. Rev. 25, 102104
(8) Anonymous (1963) Commer. Fish. Rev. 25, 104106
(9) Werren, J.C., & Allhands, F.H. (1971) J. Assoc. Off. Anal.
Chem. 54, 640642
(10) Official Methods of Analysis (1990) 15th Ed., AOAC, Arlington, VA, sec. 971.13
(11) Code of Federal Regulations, Title 50, 264.271 (f)(g),
264.321 (f)(g), 264.371 (f)(g), 264.421 (f)(g), 1988 Revision
(12) Gershman, L.L. (1979) J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. 62, 351352
(13) Anonymous (1990) Minimum Fish Flesh Content, Inspection
Manual 25 NOAA Handbook, Part II, Chapter 20, Section 01
(14) Horwitz, W. (1995) Pure Appl. Chem. 67, 331343
(15) Youden, W.J., & Steiner, E.H. (1975) Statistical Manual of
the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, AOAC,
Arlington, VA
(16) Graybill, F.A. (1961) An Introduction to Linear Statistical
Models, Vol. I, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New
York, NY, 368374

(17) Hald, A. (1952) Statistical Theory with Engineering Applications, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 301303
(18) Learson, R.J., Lane, J.P., & Hill, W.S. (1966) The Effects of
Processing Variables on the Fish Flesh Content of Breaded
Fish Portions, Part II, The Effects of Fish Block Temperature, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Technological
Laboratory, Gloucester, MA (unpublished)
(19) Williams, S.K., Martin, R., Brown, W.L., & Bacus, J.N.
(1981) J. Food Sci. 46, 15771581
(20) Bon, J., & Brunner, L.K. (1986) J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem.
69, 7579
(21) Flick, G.J. Jr, Gwo, Y.-Y., Ory, R., Baran, W.L., Sasiela, R.J.,
Boling, J., Vinnett, C.H., Martin, R.E., & Arganosa, G.C.
(1989) J. Food Qual. 12, 227242
(22) Flick, G.J. Jr, Boling, J., Baran, W.L., Ory, R.L., Sasiela, R.J.,
Collins, W.F., & Martin, R.E. (1983) Standardization of Battered Seafood Portions for Use in Fast Food Restaurants,
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting, New
Orleans, LA