The relations between smoking parameters and the characteristics of salmon raw material were investigated with respect to yield, colour, flesh content of phenol and salt, and sensory properties. The fish studied were ocean ranched salmon harvested in Iceland in July 1998 and farmed salmon from Norway slaughtered in October 1998 and April 1999. Seven treatments were applied on fresh or frozen raw material combining dry or brine salting with cold smoking at 20 or 30°C. Electrostatic smoking was tested on dry-salted salmon fillets. The results show a lower yield after filleting and trimming with ocean ranched fish. Although freezing had little effect on yield, total loss was slightly greater, especially for fish with low fat content. Sensory differences were also apparent. The brine salting technique resulted in lower losses. Fish with higher fat content gave a better yield after processing, although careful control of the smoking procedure was required (especially at 30°C) to avoid a case-hardening effect. With brine salting, salt uptake was higher for smaller, leaner fish. The phenol content of flesh depended on the technique and/or smoking temperature used, regardless of the fish studied. However, for a smoking temperature of 30°C, the flesh of smaller, leaner fish showed a higher phenol level. Smoking conditions and preliminary treatment such as freezing produced similar differences in sensory characteristics, regardless of the fish studied, although smaller, leaner individuals appeared to be more sensitive to these processes.

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Samples of different brand names of cold-smoked salmon products were purchased in supermarkets in six different European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom), to classify and select products of smoked salmon for preference establishment. From the 117 products obtained, 60 were selected to characterise the qualities of products available to European consumers. These 60 products of smoked salmon were then ordered directly from the producers in each country. Altogether 57 products were received and analysed. All samples were stored at 4°C and then examined 2 and 3 weeks after production. For all samples, sensory evaluation, chemical (lipid, salt, phenol, TVB-N and trimethylamine content) and physical (texture, colour) analyses and microbiological measurements (total psychrotrophic count, total lactic acid bacteria, lactobacilli, Brochothrix thermosphacta, yeasts, Enterobacteriaceae) were performed at the same time.The results show that the samples could be classified into 11 groups according to specific sensory properties evaluated by a trained panel. The main discriminating factors were found to be colour, intensity and characteristic of smoke note, amine note and salty perception.Some of the chemical and physical measurements were found to be rather good indicators of sensory properties. Polynomial models were tested to find relationships between sensory properties and chemical/physical parameters.

: Relevance of fat content and fillet shape of Atlantic salmon for quality and yield during smoking processing was investigated. Fat content significantly influenced quality of raw and smoked products, although the interactions varied according to the raw material used and smoking temperature. In raw and smoked fillets, increasing fat content coincided with increasing L* and b*‐values and decreasing fat holding capacity. In smoked salmon, fat content also correlated positively to the a*‐value, smoke‐intensity‐/wood‐fire flavor and fatty texture, and negatively to water holding capacity and shear‐force. Weight loss during salting and smoking decreased with increasing fat content, and voluminous shaped fillets gave higher yield than slim fillets. Keywords: Atlantic salmon, fat content, fillet shape, salmon quality, processing

This study evaluated the effects of five smoking processes on the contents of 10 major phenolic compounds in fillets of herring (Cuplea harengus), namely two traditional processes, involving smoke production by smouldering or friction, one process using liquid smoke atomisation, and two electrostatic smoking processes, also involving smouldering or friction. The effects of several parameters, such as smoking time, smokehouse temperature, electrode voltage, and fish fillet temperature before smoking were assessed for each process. The results indicate that the content of phenolic compounds are strongly affected by the process applied. The percentages of phenolic compounds in fish flesh remained constant and discriminant for a given process, regardless of the parameters studied, which implies that the smoking process used can be identified by determination of phenolic compounds in fish.