Quality comparison of grass carp and salmon fillets packaged in modified atmosphere with different composite films

Grass carp fillets (without dark meat) and salmon fillets were stored in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) with a gas mixture of 10% O-2, 60% CO2, and 30% N-2 for up to 12 days at 4 degrees C. Effects of three commercial MAP composite films, that is, F1 from Sealed Air, F2 from Amcor, and F3 from Bemis, on contents of CO2 and O-2, and quality indicators including total viable count (TVC). total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N). thiobarbituric acid (TBA), K value, pH, and color difference were investigated. It was observed that O-2 content, pH, and TBA in grass carp fillets were higher than those of salmon fillets, while CO2 content and color difference were lower. F1 could maintain the quality of both fillets better than F2 and F3, with F3 being the worst Principal component analysis showed the scores of F1, F2, and F3 for packaging grass carp and salmon fillets were 24.840, 26.570, and 25.162, and 24.863, 27.086, and 24.878, respectively, with F1 being the best for keeping the quality. The relationship between rate constant k and film oxygen permeability for describing kinetic change of TVC and TVB-N during MAP storage for both fillets were also determined in the study.