Evaluation and Optimization of Chemical Treatments for Reducing Yellow Discoloration of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Fillets During Cold Storage

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe effects of chemical treatments on color change of yellow discolored catfish fillets during both refrigerated and frozen storage were investigated in this work. For the refrigerated storage (4°C), the effects of concentration of sodium bisulfite on reducing the yellow discoloration were studied. Compared to the untreated fillets, sodium bisulfite treatments with concentrations ranging from 0.75 to 1.50% could evidently reduce the yellowness and increase the brightness of the fillets after 7 days refrigerated storage. Since no notable improvement was observed when increasing the concentration of sodium bisulfite beyond 1.0%, the concentration range of 0.75–1.0% is recommended in this work. For the frozen storage (−20°C), the effects of sodium bisulfite and sodium bicarbonate treatments were investigated. Both 1.0% sodium bisulfite and 0.5% sodium bicarbonate treatments made the fillets slightly less yellow and less red. The 1.0% sodium bisulfite treatment also made the fillets slightly brighter. These effects were similar to those under refrigerated storage, but the changes in color were much less. The color changes were related to the degradation of carotenoids in the discolored fillets. The low temperature of frozen storage significantly limited the reaction rates and suppressed the color change processes.