Preservative effect of an organic acid‐icing system on chilled fish lipids

Abstract

This study provides a first approach concerning a novel chilling strategy, which employs a mixture of different preservative organic acids (ascorbic, citric and lactic) in the icing medium. Thus, ice prepared from water including two different concentrations of a commercial acid mixture-formula (800 and 400 ppm; C-800 and C-400 conditions, respectively) were applied as icing system to three important commercial fish lean species (hake, Merluccius merluccius; megrim, Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis; angler, Lophius piscatorius). Lipid oxidation (peroxide value; thiobarbituric acid index; fluorescent compound formation) and hydrolysis (free fatty acid formation) were evaluated throughout the chilling time (up to 12-15 days) and compared to results obtained in fish kept under traditional ice prepared only from water (C-0 condition); a complementary sensory evaluation was carried out. As a result of employing the C-800 icing condition, a partial inhibition of lipid oxidation and hydrolysis development was obtained that was accompanied by a shelf life enhancement in all cases. Further research taking into account the complementary action of the present organic acids is envisaged. According to the lipid damage analysis, lipid hydrolysis was a more relevant event than lipid oxidation in all fish species tested.

Comparative chemical composition of different muscle zones in angler (Lophius piscatorius)

“…Moisture and total lipid contents ranged from 828 to 845 and 3.0 to 3.7 g kg À1 muscle (Table 2), respectively, in good agreement with the results reported in previous research carried out on angler muscle (Jhaveri et al, 1984;Barros-Velá zquez et al, 2008;García-Soto et al, 2011). Total lipid range can be considered low compared to the lipid ranges of other lean fish species such as hake (Merluccius merluccius) (Aubourg et al, 1999) and turbot (Psetta maxima) (Aubourg et al, 2007).…”

“…Preliminary research into quality changes in this species during storage or technological processing has assessed microbial presence (Mediel et al, 2000), volatile amine formation (RuizCapillas and Horner, 1999), nucleotide degradation (Mendes et al, 2001) and employment of advanced chilling strategies ( BarrosVelá zquez et al, 2008;García-Soto et al, 2011). Previous research related to chemical composition and nutritional value of angler is scarce and has focused on proximate and amino acid composition (Jhaveri et al, 1984), fatty acid composition (Sirot et al, 2008), and assessment of a-tocopherol and essential minerals (Jhaveri et al, 1984;Carvalho et al, 2005).…”

Inhibition of quality loss in chilled megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis) by employing citric and lactic acid icing

“…A progressive formation ( P < 0.05) of FFA was observed with chilling time in samples from each batch (Table ), and the values that were attained agree with previous research that showed a high FFA formation in megrim muscle during chilled storage (Aubourg et al ., ; García‐Soto et al ., ). Some significant differences ( P < 0.05) were observed as a result of the icing system employed; however, a definite trend concerning the icing effect could not be concluded because a higher formation was observed in the C‐125 batch during the 6–9‐day period, whereas batch‐175 fish revealed the highest FFA content at day 13.…”

“…For example, lipid oxidation was inhibited in Chilean jack mackerel as a result of including an oregano and rosemary extract in the icing system (Quitral et al ., ) and sardines by including a rosemary extract (Özyurt et al ., ). Directly related to the present research, the employment of a commercial formula including CA, LA and AA led to a lower oxidation development during the chilled storage of different fish species, including hake, megrim and angler (García‐Soto et al ., ) and blue whiting (Sanjuás‐Rey et al ., ).…”

“…Previous research on megrim has demonstrated that the quality of the fish diminishes during storage and the effects of different on‐board storage conditions have been tested (Jehanno et al ., ; Aubourg et al ., ). In addition, the development of different damage pathways has been analysed, including volatile amine formation during refrigeration (1–3 °C) (Civera et al ., ) and increased microbial development (Sanjuás‐Rey et al ., ) and lipid oxidation (García‐Soto et al ., ) during chilled storage. The present research focuses on the quality retention of megrim during chilled storage.…”