Evolution of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) freshness during storage

• Main Authors: Gerolamo Xiccato, Marco Tazzoli, Angela Trocino, Duilio Majolini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2010-01-01
• Series: Italian Journal of Animal Science
• Subjects: European sea bass, Freshness, Quality Index Method.
• Online Access: http://www.aspajournal.it/index.php/ijas/article/view/875

The study aimed to assess freshness evolution in 90 European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) analyzed 2h after catch (day 0) and after 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 days of storage at 2&deg;C. Sea bass weighted 308&plusmn;37g with average carcass yield of 89.8% and fillet yield of 48.8% slaughter weight. During storage skin colour indexes linearly changed (L<0.01) showing higher L* and lower a* and b* values. The eye liquor pH increased with storage, with both significant linear and quadratic components of variance. Fillet hardness increased from day 0 to day 4 and then decreased on day 8 (quadratic component of variance <0.01). Sensory freshness assessed by Quality Index Method showed a quadratic evolution and high correlation (R2=0.95) with days of storage.