The effects of soluble gas stabilisation on the quality of packed sardine fillets (Sardina pilchardus) stored in air, VP and MAP

Sardine (Sardina pilchardus) is a species that for its abundance assumes great importance in the Portuguese fishing sector. In order to contribute for a better utilisation of this species, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the pre-treatment with soluble gas stabilisation (SGS) (100% CO(2) at 2 bar, during 15 and 30 min) on the quality and shelf-life of sardine fillets, packed in air (AP), vacuum (VP) and modified atmosphere (MAP: 5% O(2)/35% CO(2)/60% N(2)). During the chilled storage, the quality changes were evaluated by sensory evaluation, chemical and microbiological analysis. The total volatile basic nitrogen content remained almost constant, between 16 and 19 mg N/100 g muscle, during the storage period, for all samples. The TBARs values increased with storage time, for all batches and storage conditions. The application of SGS treatment to sardine fillets, resulted in a bacteriostatic effect, contributing to the improvement of the microbiological quality of fillets. Considering a sensory criteria, the shelf-life of SGS pre-treated sardine fillets was found to be 5 days in AP and MAP while in VP-treated fillets a shelf-life of 8 days was reported. At sensory rejection, sardine fillets presented a K-value of 30% in AP and MAP batches and 40% in VP batch.