Abstract
This work evaluated the efficacy of pomegranate byproducts, specifically peel powder, as valid preservatives for food quality. Ready-to-cook cod sticks breaded with pomegranate peel powder were prepared. Shelf-life tests were conducted on breaded cod sticks during refrigerated storage (17 days) at 4 °C, monitoring the pH, microbiological and sensory quality. In addition, the nutritional quality of both the breaded and control samples was assessed. The results highlighted that active samples showed higher phenol and flavonoid content and higher antioxidant activity compared to the control fish, suggesting that pomegranate peel powder was responsible for a significant increase in cod stick nutritional quality. Furthermore, the cod stick active breading led to a delay in microbial growth without affecting the sensory properties; rather, it helped slow down the sensory attribute decline during the refrigerated storage. The data suggest that using pomegranate byproducts in breaded cod stick was effective in prolonging its shelf life, as well as improving its nutritional quality. Therefore, pomegranate peel powder can be considered as a potential resource as natural food preservative.
Highlights
The growing interest to extend the shelf life of fresh fish has led to numerous studies on the optimization of handling, refrigeration and transport, packaging practices and nonthermal methods to maintain the high quality and product safety of fish goods [1]
The results highlighted that active samples showed higher phenol and flavonoid content and higher antioxidant activity compared to the control fish, suggesting that pomegranate peel powder was responsible for a significant increase in cod stick nutritional quality
Pomegranate byproducts were included in cod stick breading to improve the final product quality from a nutritional perspective, as well as to prolong its shelf life by about three times
Summary
The growing interest to extend the shelf life of fresh fish has led to numerous studies on the optimization of handling, refrigeration and transport, packaging practices and nonthermal methods to maintain the high quality and product safety of fish goods [1]. Numerous studies are currently focused on using natural ingredients to enhance the food quality and shelf life and to meet consumer demands for safer foods to avoid the use of synthetic preservatives [3,4]. Fruit and vegetable byproducts are the most abundant materials among food byproducts, accounting for about 10–35% of the raw mass [9,10,11] These byproducts have enormous potential to be recycled, being rich in polyphenols and flavonoids and, playing an important role as both antioxidant and antimicrobial agents [12,13]. A recent publication of Dilucia et al [17] gave insight on the possibility of exploring the potential of fruit and vegetable byproducts for food packaging applications
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