Sprats in tomato - an excellent and compact appetizer, with which they most often go hiking, to the country or fishing. In order not to be disappointed with the purchase of the famous canned food, you should remember a few recommendations when choosing it. So, how to choose the sprat in a tomato?
When choosing this canned fish, take a look at the lid of the can. It should be painted or squeezed out three rows of numbers. The first row indicates the date of development, the second indicates the assortment mark, and the third indicates the shift number and the fishing industry index - letter R.
When buying, pay attention to the label. The composition of high-quality canned fish may include tomato puree or tomato paste, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, flour.
However, high-quality canned fish should not contain the following components, such as: starch, as well as vegetables - sweet peppers, carrots, onions.
When opening the can, pay attention to the consistency of tomato sauce - it should be homogeneous, have a viscous structure. The contents of the jar itself should consist mainly of fragmented pieces of fish. However, if the bank contains overt wastes like entrails, fins and pieces of black film, such a product is not of high quality and should be returned back.
The lid and bottom of the can should be flat and clean, without dents or stains of rust. A swollen jar indicates spoilage of the product.

In short, then

In the factories of the Russian Empire in the 70s of the XIX century, canned fish were produced from nelma, stellate sturgeon, burbot and sterlet. Canned sprat in tomato appeared only in the 60s of the last century. They were invented by technologists of the Kerch fish factory.

More details

Sprat production in tomato sauce is regulated by GOST 17968, adopted on October 1, 2000. Canned food from different manufacturers differ greatly in taste, as there are more than thirty tomato sauce recipes. The composition of canned food “Sprat in tomato sauce” includes: sugar, salt, pepper, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg, nutmeg, cloves, vegetable oil, tomato paste or tomato puree, flour, carrots, onions and bell peppers. Starch in the composition should not be. The consistency of high-quality tomato sauce should be uniform. The fill color can vary from orange to light brown. The size of the fish should be at least 6 cm in length. Sprats can be either fried or not fried. The taste is most pronounced in fried fish. Sprat, having a bitter taste, indicates the use of low-quality raw materials.

For the manufacture of canned food, GOST recommends using the Black Sea, Caspian and Baltic sprats. The use of tulk is allowed. It is recommended to store an open can of canned food in the refrigerator for no more than 1-2 days. For people with diseases of the stomach, "Sprat in tomato sauce" is not recommended.

1. “Baltic Mark”
  2. "5 seas"
  3. "Glavproduct"
  4. "Fish Island"
  5. “Fish”
  6. “Steering wheel”
  7. Fish canning factory "Istok"
  8. The Baltic Standard
  9. “Brivais Vilnis”
  10. "Fur seal"

The source of information:TV program “Control purchase” dated August 26, 2013, November 16, 2012, March 19, 2012, April 26, 2011 and April 12, 2010

How to choose

Permanent markings are applied to high-quality canned food. The letter "P" in the marking means the index of the fishing industry. On the lid, the numbers indicate the date of manufacture, product number and factory number. The number “352” marks the Baltic unchilled sprat in tomato sauce, the Black Sea sprat is marked with the index “48D”, and the Caspian sprat is marked “C70”. The most delicious canned foods “Sprats in Tomato Sauce” are produced from May to September. The sprat jar should be even. It should not have traces of rust, swelling and dents. The label must be clean, firmly and evenly adhered.

Attention should be paid to the fact that it is the sprat that was indicated in the composition of canned food, and not herring. In addition to fish, spices and tomato paste, the composition may contain flour and vegetable oil, necessary for frying fish. Fried sprat has a more pronounced taste. When laying out of the jar, a high-quality sprat will not fall apart and remain intact.

A good sauce should be thick with a uniform consistency. Stratification of the sauce is a sign of a violation of production technology, and a jelly-like consistency is evidence of the use of stale raw materials for the manufacture of canned food. In the right canned fish should be at least 70%, and the rest - fill.

We studied canned goods of popular brands by 53 indicators of quality and safety, including freshness, taste, the presence of impurities, mold and yeast. The experts also checked whether the sprat is really canned and if all the fish is safe.

Fortunately, all canned food is safe for health, all fish was caught in environmentally friendly places. Canned food was produced in compliance with sterility requirements, and the whole sprat was actually a sprat, and the weight was exactly the same as stated on the package.

The leaders in the amount of protein were Sprat and GoldFish, and the White Whale brand showed the best indicator of phosphorus content.

The best in the rating of Roskachestvo turned out to be canned food “sprat in tomato” of two brands: “Strait” (4.36 points) and “For Homeland” (4.26 points). The most expensive and cheapest canned goods received almost the same points, which means that in the case of sprats in a tomato, you should not focus on the price.

Sprats problems in tomato

The discrepancies were small, but still they were found:

1. Fish a little less than necessary

Three producers put less fish into canned food than GOST suggests: Bering (60% fish), "Delicious canned food" (68% fish), and "Quality mark" (66% fish) did not reach a minimum of 70%.

The brand “Ultramarine” and “White whale” became excellent students in terms of the number of fish - in them, producers put 78% and 75% of fish, respectively.

2. Not enough tomato paste.

Instead of the obligatory GOST minimum of 25%, Bering contained slightly less paste - 23%.

3. Acidity is good

One of the indicators is the overall acidity, which not only characterizes the quality of the fill, but also affects the shelf life.

Instead of the allowed range from 0.3% to 0.6% in five trademarks, a slight deviation from the requirements of GOST was revealed. These are the brands “Delicious canned food” (0.28%) and “Ultramarine” (0.29%). More significant are the trademarks “Quality Mark” (0.25%), “White Whale” (0.25%) and “Pelagus” (0.22%).

4. Who is bitter?

Four sprats have a pleasant taste typical of this type of canned food: “White whale”, “Delicious canned food”, “For Homeland”, “Pelagus”.

There was a bitterness in the five brands, and the products of one brand were sour. The "5 Seas", "GoldFish", "Strait", "Quality Mark" and "Bering" brands were "bitter", and Ultramarine turned out to be sour.

BTW

What is the most useful sprat in tomato?

When choosing sprats in a tomato, it is important to look not only at the expiration date, but also at the time of fishing, ”says Olga Denisyuk, deputy director of the National Center for the Safety of Aquaculture and Aquaculture Products. - There are established fishing periods for commercial fish. Caspian sprats are caught from January to April, as well as September to December. Seasonality of fishing can affect the taste of canned food. Over the course of the year, the fish changes their nutrition, living conditions, and developmental phases. This naturally affects the composition of muscle tissue (for example, the content of fat, protein), which affects the taste of products made from fish.

There are internal defects in canned food - you open and get scared. There are dangerous ones. And there is not much. Let's start with non-hazardous:

Protein coating (curd cake on the surface of the fish) - most often occurs in natural canned food made from ice cream raw materials, and indicates that not perfectly fresh or incorrectly frozen raw materials were used to make canned food. This is not dangerous.

Darkening of the inner surface of the can (sulfide corrosion) - purple and black spots on the inner surface of the can, reminiscent of “marbling”, appear as a result of the interaction of volatile sulfur compounds released from fish with tin and tin iron. This is not dangerous.

Souring of canned food is dangerous (flat acid deterioration), when canned food tastes and smells acid. And the tomato sauce turns pale and stretches. The reason may be delayed raw materials, violation of the cooling regime of canned food after sterilization. There is no such product!

IMPORTANT!

Do not fly with a can: 4 important external signs when you can’t take canned food for sure

1. Real bombing!

Bombing is a bloating can on both sides. It can be microbiological, physical, chemical.

* Microbiological bombing appears due to poor-quality raw materials, violation of sterilization regimes, tightness of the can.

* Physical (cold) bombing - more often occurs during freezing and subsequent thawing of canned food.

* Chemical (hydrogen) bombardment - occurs in canned fish, the contents of which are aggressive towards the tin containers in which they are packed.

All three are dangerous!

2. Smudges and rust on the jar.

Usually they are due to a violation of the tightness of the seam. So the risk of getting pathogenic bacteria is great. Also a bad sign is rust on the seam, and rusty coating on the surface of the can.

3. Not a festive "cracker."

"Flapper" is a bulge on the bottom of canned food that disappears when you click on one or occurs on the other end. Occurs in the manufacture of lids made of thin tin, overfilling cans. Clapperboard may be the first stage of physical bombing.

4. “Bird” crouched on a seam.

This is the deformation of the bottoms or lids of canned food in the form of corners. If the “bird” is formed at the junction of the longitudinal and transverse seams, then the can is often leaky.

Inspections showed that sprat roasting technology was carried out appropriately

Roskachestvo checked the sprat sold in Russian stores in tomato and developed appropriate recommendations for consumers.

Experts investigated 10 options of a popular snack on 53 indicators of quality and safety and made a rating for consumers. To participate in the study, sprats fried in tomato sauce, the most popular brands among Russians produced in Russia, were purchased.

Recommendations for choosing sprats in tomato.  Roskachestvo experts found that product quality does not always depend on its price. Experts recalled that when choosing products it is very important to take into account the production date, shelf life and storage conditions of the product, as well as make sure that these conditions are met on the trading floor. Most canned foods do not require special conditions, they are stored mainly at temperatures from 0 to 20 C. However, it is recommended to see the information in the labeling, experts advise. In addition, it is worth remembering that there are established periods for catching commercial fish. For example, it is better to buy canned salmon from pink salmon if they were made in the Far East during the salmonid fish season (July-October). As for the Caspian sprat, its catch is from January to April, and also from September to December.

Experts warn that it is not worth eating canned food in a jar swollen on both sides. In addition, you can not eat canned food with a bulge on the bottom of the can, which disappears when you click on one and occurs on the other end. Canned foods are also dangerous with the deformation of the bottoms or lids of canned food in the form of corners, as well as with rust on the surface of the can or along its seam. According to experts, canned food is safe for consumers, but it may indicate that not very fresh or improperly frozen raw materials were used for their manufacture. Non-hazardous is the increased water sludge that occurs when using delayed raw materials and violation of the heat treatment regime, as well as transparent or translucent crystals of magnesium and ammonium phosphate salts in canned food and darkening of the inner surface of the can. The most dangerous internal defect of canned food, according to experts, is souring - you can’t eat such canned food.

"In general, the result is positive - all canned goods are safe for health, the products of all the tested brands are made from fish caught in environmentally friendly places, all canned goods were made in compliance with sterility requirements, and all the sprats turned out to be sprats," Roskachestvo said.

However, not all purchased specimens of sprats in tomato corresponded to GOST, as their manufacturers claimed. As reported in the Roskachestvo, discrepancies were found in six brands. So, three producers put less fish in canned food than GOST suggests, and one brand did not report tomato paste. The last non-compliance with GOST was identified by the total acidity indicator, which characterizes the quality of the fill, which affects the taste of the product, - it was identified in five brands.

At the same time, inspections showed that in the products of all trademarks, the net weight corresponded to or even slightly more than indicated on the marking. During the taste tests of the products, the experts found that the products of four brands have a pleasant taste. There was a bitterness in the five brands, and the products of one brand were sour. The color of tomato sauce in all banks, according to experts, corresponds to GOST, as well as the consistency of bones, fins and fish meat - fins and bones are soft, meat is juicy and tender.

Inspections by Roskachestvo specialists also showed that the technology of roasting sprats was carried out appropriately, and there was no violation of the recipe in any of the tested samples. In the course of the product safety study, it was found that canned food contains neither molds, nor yeast, nor pathogens, nor heavy metals, nor radionuclides, nor pesticides. In addition, the content of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), indicating the environmental friendliness of the area where the fish was grown, was within acceptable limits. The histamine level (a protein decomposition product characterizing product spoilage) did not exceed the norms.

Despite the somewhat neglected attitude of consumers to canned food, everyone tried sprats in tomato. For those who want to recall the taste familiar to all residents of the post-Soviet space from childhood, Roskachestvo prepared the results of a sprat test presented on the shelves of the country's stores. Experts examined samples of ten brands and rated canned sprats fried in tomato sauce.

  Best of the worst

It should be noted that even rating leader  failed to earn the highest score: sprats of the brand "Strait" received only 4.36 points out of five possible. Despite the high quality of sprats and sauce and complete safety, experts complained of light bitterness and a lack of fish in the bank.

In second place  with a result of 4.26 points were canned TM "For Homeland". Among the shortcomings of this participant, the authors of the study also called a lack of fish.

Top three  with a result of 3.93 points closes GoldFish sprat with a bitter aftertaste and insufficient fish. In addition, experts noted that the sprat in the bank was too small and boiled.

Wherein most protein  it was found in canned food brands "Strait" and GoldFish, and the leader in terms of the amount of phosphorus was sprat "White whale".

And the most delicious canned goods were White Whale, For the Motherland, Pelagus and Delicious Canned, by the way, which took last, tenth line of the rating.

  Fish outsiders

The most low rating  got a sprat “Delicious canned food”. The quality of the tomato paste used by the manufacturer turned out to be low, and the fish boiled. The sample received only 1.73 points out of five.

The next outsider was the canned “Quality Mark” with a score of 2.23 points. It also turned out to be low-quality tomato paste, there was little fish in the jar, besides the product had a bitter taste.

Third from the end - sprats in tomato brand "Bering" with an estimate of 2.26 points. It should be noted that this the cheapest sample  - only 20 rubles per 100 grams. In this case, experts noted a bitter taste, a lack of fish and tomato sauce (only 23% with an acceptable 25%).

Despite the low ratings, the sprat “Tasty canned food” was among the leaders in organoleptic properties, in other words - it one of the tastiest participants in the ranking.

  1. Keep track of deadlines

It is very important to watch production date and shelf life  canned food. Expired canned food can be extremely dangerous!

It is preferable if canned pink salmon was produced from July to October - this is the period when salmon fish Putin is in the Far East, which means that canned food made at that time will be guaranteed to be made from fresh fish. But as for the Caspian sprat, it is caught from January to April and from September to December.

  2. Tomato sauce, oil or natural product?

Of course, canned food in oil much calorie  canned food in your own juice or tomato sauce, but that’s not all. So, producers of canned food in oil or tomato are forced to follow the requirements of regulatory documents that determine the ratio of fish to pot in the bank. But with regard to canned foods in their own juice, such standards do not exist, so unscrupulous manufacturers may try cash in on buyersputting in a jar less fish.

  3. The appearance of the banks

The first thing that should not be on the tin can is bombing. In other words, the jar should not be swollen. As a rule, this happens due to poor-quality raw materials, violation of the production process, tightness of the can or storage conditions. Keep in mind: canned food from bloated cans should not be eaten under any circumstances.

The second - the so-called clapperboard - bottom bulgethat disappears when pressed. Crackers can appear on banks due to the use of too thin tin or overflow, but can also be the first stage of the bombing. Therefore, there is also the contents of cans with bulges.

Finally, the bank should not be rust.

  4. Content

Carefully examine the contents of the jar and smell it. If canned foods have sour smell or tasteand the sauce turned pale and “stretches”, the purchase must be sent to the garbage can. The cause of such a defect can be both stale raw materials and a violation of manufacturing technology, and such a product can be dangerous.

Earlier in Roskachestvo checked canned salmon fish. Experts told which canned goods can be safely taken from the counter and which ones.