Abstract
The overall quality of frozen hake fillets in the Portuguese market was evaluated. Physical, biochemical, microbiological, and sensory analysis in 20 brands revealed several non-conformities. Hake was identified in 19 brands, although two mislabeled the species. Lower net weight than labeled was evidenced in ca. one-third of brands. TVB-N in ca. one-third of the samples presented high values, although within legal limit. Almost all brands presented excessive amount of ice glaze, low levels of WHC (raw/cooked), low levels of soluble protein, and undue thaw-drip loss, thus reflecting the poor quality of fillets. Added phosphates were below the legal limit in all samples; however, they were used in glaze ice in three brands, and only labeled in one. Overall microbiological quality of frozen fillets was good, though yeasts and molds detected in six samples indicate poor hygienic conditions in some facilities. Labels comply with legal requisites, however, need improvement, namely the ‘best before’ periods. In general, packaging was efficient regarding presence of ice crystals and dehydration signs. Concerning sensory analysis of cooked fillets, 63% of the brands had bad to poor quality and 37% fair quality. Merluccius productus revealed the worst quality, namely regarding thaw drip loss, thaw drip loss protein, M/P ratio, pH and sensory evaluation. Overall results show that a significant part of the hake fillets business operators are still failing in relation with best practices.
Highlights
Published: 13 April 2021Fish in the frozen form represented, in 2016 in Europe and all other developed countries, 58% of the total production used for human consumption [1]
The survey detected a total of 32 hake fillet brands from which the 20 brands with the higher frequency of presence in the retailers were selected for analysis (Table 1)
Merluccius was correctly identified in both samples, the identified species were M. hubbsi and M. paradoxus, respectively, instead of M. capensis
Summary
Fish in the frozen form represented, in 2016 in Europe and all other developed countries, 58% of the total production used for human consumption [1]. Of all finfish landed in Europe in 2017, hake had the highest value, with European hake (Merluccius merluccius) representing 76% of the total hake. Together with the other 11 species that share this commercial designation, hake is one of the most traded and consumed products in Europe and was responsible in 2016 for a 4% share of the total seafood consumption [2]. Hake is the third most consumed fish species (with 6%) by the Portuguese, after salt and dried cod (38%) and canned tuna (7%) and its significance has been linked to the fact that frozen hake products became very
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