Effect of a natural organic acid-icing system on the microbiological quality of commercially relevant chilled fish species

Abstract

a b s t r a c tNatural preservative organic acids (ascorbic, citric and lactic acids) were used to prepare a novel organic acid-flake icing system for the chilled preservation of hake (Merluccius merluccius), megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis) and angler (Lophius piscatorius). The icing system was prepared with two different concentrations of a commercial acid mixture-formula containing the three organic acids at 800 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg (C-800 and C-400 batches, respectively). Aerobic mesophiles, psychrotrophs, proteolytic bacteria, trimethylamine and pH were evaluated and the results compared with sensory analyses. Significantly (P < 0.05) lower counts of mesophiles were found for hake and megrim in the C-800 and C-400 batches compared with the control batch. In the case of angler, significantly (P < 0.05) lower counts of mesophiles, psychrotrophs and proteolytic microorganisms (P < 0.05) were found for fish stored in the C-800 icing conditions. Both C-400 and C-800 megrim batches exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) lower pH values than the control batch, and this result was also observed in the C-800 angler batch. Sensory analysis confirmed that the shelf lives of the three fish species in the C-800 batch were extended. According to the parameters assessed, storage of hake, megrim and angler in the proposed ice system better protects their microbial and sensory qualities.

The Effect of Organic Acid, Trisodium Phosphate and Essential Oil Component Immersion Treatments on the Microbiology of Cod (Gadus morhua) during Chilled Storage

“…Thus, there is a need for novel fish preservation methods and in recent years there has been increasing interest in the application of chemical preservatives to control microbial, oxidative and autolytic enzymatic spoilage of fish [13]. Of these, organic acids, such as citric acid (CA), lactic acid (LA) and capric acid (CP) are particularly suitable as they occur naturally in foods, are ‘generally recognised as safe’ (GRAS) and are low cost [14]. In addition to lowering the pH of the food, CA and LA molecules penetrate the lipid membrane of bacteria destabilizing the pH in the cytoplasm thereby inhibiting metabolic reactions and growth [15,16].…”

Chemical stability of rainbow trout in icing medium containing pistachio (Pistachia vera) green hull extract during chilled storage

“…In order to retain the quality of fresh fish and reduce the rate of spoilage during handling and storage, a wide number of preservation methods have been applied. Refrigerated sea water, flake ice or ice slurries as well as exposure to chemical agents are known as important strategies to attain this purpose (Rey et al 2012). Among them, storage in ice is one of the most noteworthy and efficient way to prolong the shelf-life of fish.…”

“…was applied (Ashie et al 1996;Briones et al 2010;García-Soto et al 2013). Recently, the addition of preservative compounds such as organic acids (ascorbic, citric and lactic acid; Rey et al 2012), ozone (Pastoriza et al 2008) and plant extracts in icing medium has been also investigated. Bensid et al (2014) evaluated the quality changes of anchovy stored in ice containing thyme, oregano and clove extracts.…”

Effect of storage periods and packaging materials on the proximate and chemical properties of frozen blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) at different exposure time

“…Fish and fishery products quality has become a major source of concern in fish industry all over the world (Huss et al, 2003) because of their short shelf life, high perishability and which also vary due to the variation in species, environmental habitats and feeding habits (Yagoub, 2009). The quality and freshness of fish rapidly deteriorates shortly after capture through microbial and biochemical mechanisms due to enzymatic breakdown of major fish molecules resulting in early quality loss in fresh fish (Al-Jasser and Al-Jasass, 2014;Rey et al, 2012;FAO, 2005).Live fish is naturally considered to be sterile, but after death the defense mechanism of the fish fails to combat the actions of microorganisms which are found on the skin, gills and alimentary tract, and due to contamination and replication of these microbes; decay occurs and the consumption becomes dangerous (Mol and Tosun, 2011;Alparslan et al, 2014). Lipids and proteins oxidation are also important factors affecting the quality of frozen fish because they cause fish off-flavour, as the enzymatic hydrolysis of fats by lipases (lipolysis) results in fat deterioration.…”