Fish Freshness Meter (Torrymeter)

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.

The increasing focus on food quality and safety among consumers has contributed to the growing demand for sensitive and rapid analytical technologies that can be used to evaluate the freshness and authenticity of fish and other seafood products.

This investigation has determined the spoilage pattern and iced-storage life of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and shows how its storage life might be affected by such handling practices.

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.

An investigation on quality assessment of Rohu (Labeo Rohita) stored in ice was carried out through sensory, microbial and chemical analyses.

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.

This briefing note is aimed at businesses that catch, process, buy, sell or trade fresh seafood products; it seeks to improve the understanding of those factors that cause the natural deterioration of seafood products due to spoilage, and to ensure that businesses are able to mitigate and remediate those changes as far as possible to ensure that the maximum storage lives for their products are achieved.

To differentiate between frozen-thawed and fresh broiler breast fillets, different methods such as optical microscopy and measurement of drip loss, pH, Fish Freshness Meter (Torrymeter) and K-value were performed. A total of 10 samples of fresh and frozen-thawed breast fillets were stored in a refrigerator (4 C) for 5 days. Optical microscopy of the frozen-thawed breast fillets found structural changes caused by ice crystals, which may have significantly increased drip loss compared to fresh breast fillet.

The objective of this study was to evaluate seasonal, spatial, and species effects on fillet quality of Asian carp harvested from the Illinois River. As such, Bighead and Silver Carp were harvested on two occasions (summer and fall) from two geographically distinct reaches (Alton and Peoria) of the Illinois River.

Dielectric properties and sensory assessment of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax, L.) stored under six different conditions over a period of 75 hours were investigated. Declines of the Fish Freshness Meter (Torrymeter) values over time were established under all storage conditions but showed variability.