Torrymeter: Safety Evaluation of Fish

Torrymeter: Safety Evaluation of Fish

The quality of fish and fishery products is a major concern in fish industry worldwide. Essentially, the objective of fish and fish product assessment is to avoid the ingestion of contaminated food; to evaluate the nutritive value of food by detecting the presence of biological, chemical and physical hazards and in the end to ensure the safety of the consumer. To assess the safety of fish and fish products both instrumental and sensory methods are used. Sensory methods are the most satisfactory way of assessing the spoilage and freshness of fish and fishery products.

Rapid estimation of lipid content of immature chum salmon in the ocean with a handheld microwave meter (Fish Fat Meter)

Rapid estimation of lipid content of immature chum salmon in the ocean with a handheld microwave meter (Fish Fat Meter)

We evaluated a handheld microwave meter (Fish Fat Meter) as an effective tool for the rapid estimation of the total lipid content in the muscle of immature chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta).

Quality and production trait genetics of farmed European Whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus)

Quality and production trait genetics of farmed European Whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus)

Here we present phenotypic and genetic parameters for the major production and product quality traits in European Whitefish. The studied quality traits were fillet gaping, muscle texture, fillet lipid percentage recorded chemically and by the Fish Fat Meter, fillet protein%, fillet color lightness, and condition factor, and the studied production traits were harvest weight, gutted weight, carcass% of wet weight, fillet% of gutted weight, maturity age, and survival.

Levels of stored energy but not Marine foraging patterns differentiate seasonal ecotypes of wild and hatchery Steelhead returning to the Kalama River, Washington

Levels of stored energy but not Marine foraging patterns differentiate seasonal ecotypes of wild and hatchery Steelhead returning to the Kalama River, Washington

Study was to compare energy storage, as indicated by somatic lipids and marine foraging as indicated by stable isotopes of N and C, between seasonal runs of Steelhead of wild and hatchery origin. We did so by sampling Steelhead returning to the Kalama River in southwestern Washington, including summer and winter fish of hatchery and wild origins.

Benefits of Using the Torrymeter for Seasonal Evaluation of Fish Quality

Benefits of Using the Torrymeter for Seasonal Evaluation of Fish Quality

In this study, the seasonality effect on the freshness profile of different economic fish species was evaluated for the first time, using three different approaches (sensory: Quality Index Method (QIM) and European (EC) Scheme; physical: Torrymeter (TRM) values; and microbiological analyses: Total Viable Counts (TVC) and degradative bacteria). Over a year, individuals of farmed fish Sparus aurata and Dicentrarchus labrax, as well as the wild fish Trachurus trachurus, Scomber colias, and Sardina pilchardus, were sampled seasonally for the evaluation of their freshness profile over 10 days on ice.

Torrymeter Used to Evaluate Fish Freshness in Research and Industry

Torrymeter Used to Evaluate Fish Freshness in Research and Industry

To validate methods for the assessment of fish freshness and to discuss the freshness criteria for fish commercialized within the European Union. The project’s participants are working in subgroups studying sensory analysis, microbiology, volatile compounds, proteins, lipids, adenosine triphosphate and physical measurements with respect to fish freshness evaluation. In this article, the different subgroups have summarized changes that occur in fish and methods to evaluate fish freshness as a first step towards the definition of criteria for fish freshness.