The availability of a rapid, cost‐effective, accurate and reliable method of assessing fish meal protein digestibility would greatly enhance and standardize quality‐control procedures in both the fish meal and fish feed industries. However, while several in vitro digestibility tests have been developed, few have been adopted by industry due to their time‐consuming nature, problems surrounding reliability and/or inconsistencies in predictive ability. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the utility and predictive qualities of two in vitro digestion assays of distinct design. Methods examined included a novel open system, wherein on‐line removal of digestion products was attainable, and a closed system, which permitted analysis of products following completion of the digestion process. Results provided by the two systems were compared using four differentially processed fish meals. The open system supplied information based upon the detected quantity of products below 10 kDa. The closed system provided measurement of free amino groups. Both methods were in agreement with respect to assessing the presence of hydrolysed product. Both systems furnished complementary data with respect to the characterization of fish meal protein quality. The closed and open systems provided insight upon digestibility and digestion kinetic profiles respectively.

Protein digestive capacity, measured by an in vitro method, was examined in individual rainbow trout of four weight groups (40-875 g; n=14 group 1 ), using three fish meals (FM). Differences (P<0·05) were found in digestive capacity between groups and with FM grade used. Larger fish expressed greatest catalytic capacity. 1998 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

From a potato cultivar breeding database including 2,143 named cultivars and clones, 11 cultivars that spanned the major variation in cultivar quality were selected for subsequent sensory and hedonistic applicability tests. A tailor-made sensory profile of the cultivars was developed for four different cooking procedures: boiled, mashed, oven-fried and oven-cooked potatoes. A sensory profile consisted of the four to five most important sensory attributes, and the data was combined with the applicability data using multivariate data analysis. Ultimately, the variation in eating quality was evaluated in a hedonistic test with expert evaluation of applicability. Three gourmet chefs prepared the different cultivars as boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes and oven-fried potatoes and evaluated the cultivars' applicability, while a sensory panel consisting of nine judges evaluated the sensory quality. The multivariate data analysis revealed a significant diversity amongst the cultivars for the different cooking procedures. A single PCA bi-plot was able to provide a simple and clear overview of the gastronomic diversity and possible applications of the different potato cultivars.

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