Influence of Different Previous Frozen Holding Periods on the Canned Fish Quality

Abstract

The combined effects of thermal processing (i.e., sterilisation treatment) and the prior frozen storage time (3 or 6 months at −18 °C) on the quality loss in canned Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) were determined. Thus, the sterilisation step led to a remarkable (p L* and b* colour parameters; meanwhile, a decrease (p a* colour value were detected. The prior frozen storage period led to an increased (p L* and b* colour values in the corresponding canned samples; additionally, a lower (p < 0.05) polyene index and phospholipid content were observed in canned fish previously subjected to frozen storage. In most indices, physico-chemical changes related to quality loss were found to be higher if the previous storage period was increased. According to the marked effects of the sterilisation step and the prior frozen storage period, the optimisation of such processing conditions is recommended to maximise the quality of canned horse mackerel.

Keywords

• horse mackerel
• canning
• cold storage
• lipid oxidation
• lipid hydrolysis
• fatty acid profile