Does Vacuum Packaging Retain the Quality of Hilsa Fish (Tenualosa ilisha) during Long-Term Frozen Storage?

Shaima Aktar,Md Monjurul Hasan,Zannatun Naeem,Md Tariqul Islam,Sonia Khatun,Yahia Mahmud,Fawzia Adib Flowra,Md Abul Bashar

doi:10.3390/foods_2020-07621

Shaima Aktar, Md Monjurul Hasan + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods_2020-07621

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Abstract

Long-term frozen storage deteriorates the quality of hilsa fish (Tenualosa ilisha), famous for its delicious taste and flavors. Vacuum packaging may retain the flavor and quality of hilsa fish. To this end, biochemical and microbiological analyses were used to assess the quality of hilsa fishes under whole without pack, whole with vacuum pack, dressed without pack, and dressed with vacuum pack, at a monthly interval during a year of frozen storage at −18 °C. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the values of pH, free fatty acids (FFA), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), and aerobic plate count (APC) among the treatments, and the values remained within the acceptable limit during the storage period. However, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in samples under vacuum (whole and dressed) compared to samples without pack. TBARS values did not cross the acceptable limit for vacuum pack samples in nearly the entire storage period but were exceeded for samples without pack within the first month. It is assumed that the vacuum packaging reduced the secondary oxidation of fatty fish like hilsa during the frozen storage, which can ensure a year-round supply of quality hilsa fish without altering its distinctive taste and flavor.

Highlights

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
Sample collection and preparation: Hilsa fishes weighing 0.8 ± 0.15 kg were bought from the hilsa landing center in Chandpur, Bangladesh
The fishes were brought to the Quality Control Laboratory of the Department of Fisheries at the University of Rajshahi under icing condition

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Hilsa is Bangladesh’s national fish and is highly famous for its delicious taste and unique flavors, and high socioeconomic importance [2,3]. It is economically the most significant single species, employing about 0.45 million people directly, and about 2.5 million people indirectly 86% of hilsa come from Bangladesh, followed by India (8%), Myanmar (4%), and the rest from other countries [3]. Total hilsa production was 0.52 million MT in 2017–2018, sharing 12.09% of the total fish production in Bangladesh

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