A History of the Development of Sensory Methods for the Evaluation of Freshness of Fish

Abstract

It is well-established in fish technology that freshness should be measured primarily by sensory procedures, though considerable effort has been expended in looking for nonsensory alternatives. A variety of methods for sensory evaluation of freshness has been described and this historical review traces developments of these methods. Much of the source material derives from the research literature such as research journals and reports of research, and the use of sensory methods in commercial quality control has scarcely been documented. There is a brief discussion of possible future developments in sensory evaluation of freshness.

A review on colorimetric indicators for monitoring product freshness in intelligent food packaging: Indicator dyes, preparation methods, and applications

“…The current methods for assessing fish freshness quality are mainly based on sensory, microbiological, and chemical analyses. Sensory evaluation is the primary approach to assess target consumer acceptance by considering the key quality attributes, including the appearance (e.g., eyes, gill, body color), smell, firmness, and so on (Howgate, 2015). Once the sensory evaluation procedures are completed, the resulting scores are interpreted by experienced personnel following established protocols such as those from European Union Scheme and Quality Index Method (Green et al., 2010; Olafsdóttir et al., 1997).…”

Sensory evaluation of fresh/frozen mackerel products: A review

“…In the commercial environment, sensory evaluation is prevalent in the harvesting, processing, and marketing of mackerel and is a very important part of the quality control of mackerel (Howgate, 2013). See Figure 2 for the main evaluation methods in the distribution chain of mackerel.…”

Modified Atmosphere Systems and Shelf Life Extension of Fish and Fishery Products

“…Nevertheless, many of the quality issues observed in consumer ready fish and fishery products derive from the initial quality of the fresh raw material, which starts declining immediately post-mortem [ 57 ]. Some important fish handling and quality guidelines that should be followed from harvest to processing of fresh fish to realize the maximum benefit of MAP or CAP are: Stressful conditions during harvest and slaughter should be avoided to maximize eating quality of fish [ 24 , 58 ]; Fish should be bled promptly, and eviscerated as soon as possible [ 23 ]; Fish should be promptly chilled and maintained at a temperature approaching that of melting ice from time of slaughter to processing [ 59 ]; Appearance of the eyes, gills and skin should be evaluated to conform with high quality attributes as described in methods for sensory evaluation of fish and fishery products such as the Torry Fish Quality Assessment System [ 60 , 61 ], the Quality Index Method [ 62 ] among others [ 54 , 63 ]. Other important characteristics are: Fish should have firm to normal texture (not soft) and odor notes typical of fresh fish (ocean-breeze, briny, cantaloupe, melon and cucumber notes) should be present; For fillets, flesh color should be uniform at the typical color range for the species; Fillets should have little to no gaping.…”

“…Appearance of the eyes, gills and skin should be evaluated to conform with high quality attributes as described in methods for sensory evaluation of fish and fishery products such as the Torry Fish Quality Assessment System [ 60 , 61 ], the Quality Index Method [ 62 ] among others [ 54 , 63 ]. Other important characteristics are: Fish should have firm to normal texture (not soft) and odor notes typical of fresh fish (ocean-breeze, briny, cantaloupe, melon and cucumber notes) should be present; For fillets, flesh color should be uniform at the typical color range for the species; Fillets should have little to no gaping.…”