The effects of modified atmosphere and vacuum packaging on quality of chub mackerel

Abstract

Quality and shelf life of filleted chub mackerel packaged in air, vacuum (VP) and modified atmosphere packing (MAP) (O-2/CO2/N-2, 5%/70%/25%) conditions and stored at +4 degrees C were investigated by measurement of sensory, chemical and microbiological analyses. Acceptability scores for odour, taste and texture of cooked air packaged, VP and MAP chub mackerel decreased with storage time. The sensory scores of chub mackerel stored in air, VP and MAP at +4 degrees C were 10 and 12 days, respectively. Total volatile basic nitrogen and trimethylamine nitrogen values gave acceptable results for up to 9 days for the chub mackerel stored in air, VP and 11 days for MAP storage. VP fillets presented the lowest thiobarbituric acid values. Mesophilic counts for air-VP and MAP samples exceeded 6 log CFU g(-1) after 7 and 11 days of cold storage, respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that the shelf life of chub mackerel stored in cold storage (+4 degrees C), as determined by overall acceptability of all data, is 9 days for air-packaged and VP fish and 12 days for MAP fish.