FISHERIES AND MARINE SERVICE Translation Series No. 4334 ...

"Matjes fillets in oil". The widely fluctuating fat contents are re-
markable. Under industrial processing conditions Matjes herrings are
customarily only washed, but not soaked. Typical components including
herring oil are thus not leached out from the meat.
If one regards the salt contents in the herring fillets from
Table 4 from this point of view, then well—soaked fillets cannot be ex-
cluded. The fat contents in the fillets may therefore have decreased
to a greater extent thaà is normally the case with fat herring fillets.
According to oui' own (previous) experience one can assume that
from herring fillets with a fat content of 15% small amounts of fat
are lost from the fillets only if they are soaked in water. It is more
difficult to assess the losses incurred with herrings of higher fat
content but they musttat any rate, be assumed to be higher than those
of the "normal fillet".
All of the "Matjes" fillets listed in Table 4 contained less than
15% fat. Matjes fillets with higher fat contents which are, of course
also found, were deliberately not included in the Table. Even if soaking
in water is assumed, herring fillets with a fat content of 12.9% or less
could in all probability not have contained 15% fat as raw material.
Possible fat losses incurred through the customary processing, storage
and preparation for examination should generally not exceed 2% in these
"normal fillets" with a 15% fat content. The requirements for the de-
signation "Matjes" fillets are therefore still met by prepared herring
fillets from, for instance, "Matjes fillets in oil" with a fat content
of 13% if one assumes a loss of 2%. At lower fat contents herring fillets
are lacking the typical Matjes characteristics, regardless of the salt
content in the tissue fluid of the fish.
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