Antibacterial activity of coconut shell liquid smoke (CS-LS) and its application on fish ball preservation

Liquid smoking emerges as a potential substitution for traditional smoking method in preserving proteinaceous foods. The study is aimed to investigate antibacterial activity of coconut shell liquid smoke (CSLS) and potential application of CS-LS on fish ball preservation. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of CS-LS is determined with broth dilution method against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. CS-LS was able to inhibit microbial activities of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, giving 0.22% and 0.40% MIC of CS-LS, respectively. Shelf life of fish ball was increased from 16 to 32 hours, determined at 27–28°C, by applying 2.5% CS-LS. At the same concentration of CS-LS, fish ball can achieve 20 days of storage at 4±1°C, giving acceptable TPC count (1.80 log CFU/g) while maintaining stability of pH at 5.7-5.8 and slight moisture content reduction (p 0.05). The results indicated that CS-LS was an effective preservative agent for fish ball.