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Low-field (LF) (1)H NMR T 2 relaxation measurements were used to study changes in water distribution in lean (Atlantic cod) and fatty (Atlantic salmon) fish during salting in 15% NaCl and 25% NaCl brines. The NMR data were treated by PCA, continuous distribution analysis, and biexponential fitting and compared with physicochemical data. Two main water pools were observed in unsalted fish, T 21, with relaxation times in the range 20-100 ms, and T 22, with relaxation times in the range 100-300 ms. Pronounced changes in T 2 relaxation data were observed during salting, revealing changes in the water properties. Salting in 15% brine lead to a shift toward longer relaxation times, reflecting increased water mobility, whereas, salting in saturated brines had the opposite effect. Water mobility changes were observed earlier in the salting process for cod compared to salmon. Good linear correlations ( F

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Biochemical, physical and sensory quality of farmed Atlantic cod subjected to percussion stunning (control), anaesthesia (AQUI-S TM ) and excessive exercise (30 min chasing before slaughter, 'stressed') were analysed after 7 days of ice storage. The white muscle energy status (initial pH, muscle twitches and high-energy phosphates) revealed that the fish were truly representatives of rested (percussion stunned and anaesthetised) and stressed cod. Sensory evaluation showed that the fillets of cod exposed to percussion stunning and AQUI-S TM anaesthesia prior slaughter had slightly higher whiteness scores, and that the fillets of AQUI-S TM anaesthetised cod had slightly shinier surfaces than the fillets of cod exposed to pre-slaughter stress. Furthermore, fillets of anaesthetised (AQUI-S TM ) cod had significantly higher inosine monophosphate (IMP) contents and lower K-values than fillets of cod exposed to pre-slaughter stress, after 7 days of ice storage. Preslaughter stress did to some extent affect fillet colour immediately after killing and after ice storage. Otherwise, no significant effects of stress were observed with regard to biochemical, physical or sensory quality (ultimate pH, water content, drip loss, water holding capacity, texture and gaping) of farmed Atlantic cod.

The main objectives of this study were to investigate (1) whether rested harvest of farmed cod was better maintained by chilling with slurry rather than by traditional ice storage, (2) whether chilling with slurry would be a feasible chilling method to assure low core temperatures (≤0 °C) at packing of gutted fish, and (3) the effects of superchilling compared with traditional ice on selected quality parameters of cod during storage. In the experiment, seawater slurry at -2.0 ± 0.3 °C was used. Anesthetized (AQUI-S™), percussion stunned, and stressed cod chilled in slurry were compared. Cod stored on ice were used as reference group. The fish were evaluated at the day of slaughter, and after 7 and 14 d of storage according to handling stress (initial muscle pH, muscle twitches, rigor mortis), core temperatures, quality index method, microbial counts, weight changes, salt and water content, water distribution, pH, adenosine triphosphate-degradation products, K-value, water-holding capacity, fillet color, and texture. Chilling cod in slurry was more rapid than chilling in ice. Prechilling (1 d) of cod in slurry before subsequent ice storage resulted in lower quality 7 d postmortem compared with both ice and continuous slurry storage. The potential advantages of superchilling became more prominent after 14 d with lower microbiological activity, better maintenance of freshness (lower total quality index scores and lower K-values) compared with fish stored on ice. A drawback with slurry-stored fish was that cloudy eyes developed earlier, in addition to weight gain and salt uptake compared to ice-stored fish. Practical Application: Chilling is an essential operation in any fish-processing plant. This manuscript addresses different applications of slurry ice in the processing and storage of Atlantic cod. Cod quality was assessed after 7 and 14 d of iced and superchilled storage.