Profile of proximate levels and abundance of microbial contamination in hydrolyzed sauce of Razor Clams (

Solen sp. is one of marine organisms that not only abundant in the Madura strait, but also rich in nutrients making it a promising candidate for development into functional food products such as clam sauce. This study aims to determine the best formula and analyze the differences in physical characteristics, proximate levels, and abundance of microbial contamination in clam sauce. Four formulations were tested, each with varying proportions of clams (%), salt (%), and papain enzyme (%) during the hydrolysis process: F1 (90:2.5:7.5), F2 (90:5:5), F3 (90:7.5:2.5), and F4 (90:6:4). Based on the proximate composition and microbial contamination levels, formulation F4 was identified as the most suitable, meeting the standards set by SNI 01.4275:1996, SNI 4275:2022, and PerBPOM No. 13 of 2019. The proximate composition of F4 included protein (3.58 ± 0.27%), moisture (76.77 ± 0.19%), ash (0.62 ± 0.01%), fat (0.43 ± 0.13%), and carbohydrates (0.06 ± 0.00%). The microbial profile showed a Total Plate Count (TPC) of 0.286 × 10⁴ CFU/g and Escherichia coli levels of <3 MPN/g. While microbial contamination levels were statistically similar across all formulations, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in most proximate parameters, with the exception of moisture and carbohydrate content. These findings support the potential of F4 as a standardized and safe formulation for the development of a novel razor clam-based sauce product.