Postmortem Changes in Black Skipjack Muscle During Storage in Ice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Quality characteristics of black‐skipjack ( Euthynnus lineatus ) muscle kept in ice were evaluated by monitoring changes in chemical, microbiological, and sensory parameters over a 24‐d storage period. The K value increased linearly (r 2 = 0.966) from < 20% before d 3 to 75% at d 18. Muscle pH fluctuated between 5.7 to 6.0. Histamine did not exceed 50 ppm, while putrescine and cadaverine were < 40 ppm. Lipid deterioration was rather low with TBA values of 5 mg/100g at d 18. Descriptive sensorial evaluation indicated excellent‐to‐good attributes at d 6 and good‐to‐acceptable at d 18. Sensory assessment and K value gave the highest correlation with storage time, indicating a shelf life of 18 d.