Seasonal Evaluation of Freshness Profile of Commercially Important Fish Species
| Title | Seasonal Evaluation of Freshness Profile of Commercially Important Fish Species |
| Article Written by | PatrÃcia G. Cardoso, Odete Gonçalves, Maria F. Carvalho, Rodrigo Ozório, Paulo Vaz-Pires |
| Research Done at | Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, Portugal University of Porto, Portugal |
| Published Date | July 6, 2021 |
| Fish Species | Sparus aurata (gilthead seabream), Dicentrarchus labrax (European seabass), Trachurus trachurus (Atlantic horse mackerels), Scomber colias (Atlantic chub mackerels), Sardina pilchardus (sardine) |
| Key Words | freshness profile; seasonal evaluation; quality variations; wild fish; farmed fish; spoilage bacteria; analytical methods |
What the research is about
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.
Research conclusion
The methods used in this work showed an unclear relationship between the freshness status of the fish and the season. However, when taken all together, they indicate a loss of freshness that gradually occurs over time. Though one could expect differences in freshness induced by season, as different seasons imply differences in many parameters (e.g., oxygen, pH, and temperature—the last being the most important one), it seems that the effect of seasonality was not as assertive as expected, at least for the majority of the studied species.
Nonetheless, in any case, it seems that the time of the year (season) does not clearly influence the freshness status of fresh fish distribution for both the wild and farmed species tested in this study. Interestingly, farmed species have shown signs of high freshness, which is favorable to the consumption of cultivated fish.
Assurant Innovations take
Torrymeter was used to measure fish freshness in this study to determine if there was seasonal difference when it comes to fish freshness. No conclusive evidence showed seasonality of fish freshness of the species studied.
Fish Freshness Meter (Torrymeter)
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