QUALITY LOSS ASSESSMENT OF CRISP GRASS CARP (CTENOPHARYNGODON IDELLUS C. ET V) FILLETS DURING ICE STORAGE

The freshness of crisp grass carp fillets stored in ice was evaluated by quality index method (QIM), chemical, microbiological and texture methods. It was found that there was a high linear correlation between the quality index values and storage time in ice. The remaining storage time of the crisp grass carp fillets could be estimated within an accuracy of +/- 1.2 days, if evaluated with QIM. The limit of sensory acceptability was 10 days for crisp grass carp fillets during storage in ice. With the chemical and microbiological methods, results showed that the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), pH and total viable counts (TVCs) reached 17.09mg/100g, 6.86 and 2.7x106cfu/g, respectively, and texture profile analysis changed significantly on the eighth day. TVB-N value, pH value and TVCs exceeded 20mg/100g, 7 and 107cfu/g on the 10th day, respectively. The results of QIM, chemical, microbiological and texture methods showed a good coincidence. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Freshwater fish are important food resources for the people, especially to the people of the developing countries. Because of the attribute of freshwater fish, it is very important to the fish processing industry to evaluate the freshness or shelf life by a mathematical model, and the application of QIM can help determinate the freshness or shelf life of freshwater in an accurate, objective and efficient way. Furthermore, the study of comparisons among QIM, chemical, microbiological and texture methods will improve the application of QIM in freshwater fish processing and storage.