Fatty Acids and Fat-Soluble Vitamins in Salted Herring (Clupea harengus) Products

The fatty acid composition and contents of fat and fat-soluble vitamins of three salted products prepared from Icelandic herring were analyzed. The effects of storage on the products over their shelf life, 6 or 12 months, were investigated. The average oil content of salted, gutted herring and salted fillets in vacuum remained constant, 17 and 12% of wet weight, respectively. In the pickled product the oil content decreased during the 12 months of storage from 13 to 12%. The composition of the products was typical for herring, the most abundant fatty acids being oleic (18:1n−9), palmitic (16:0), cetoleic (22:1n−11), and gadoleic (20:1n−9) acids. Monounsaturated acids constituted clearly the main group with a proportion of >50% of all fatty acids. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n−3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n−3) comprised together >12% of all fatty acids. During storage, some hydrolysis of triacylglycerol (TAG) occurred, causing a slight reduction in practically all esterified fatty acids. In no...