Effect of pre-freezing treatments on the quality of Alaska pollock fillets subjected to freezing/thawing

Jinhwan Lee, Quentin Fong, Jae W. Park

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Alaska pollock, immediately frozen at sea in the Bering Sea, were thawed in a cold room until the fish core temperature reached −1.5 °C. Whole fish (WF) and headed and gutted fish (HF), stored under refrigeration for 0, 4, 8 and 12 h, were subsequently filleted and frozen at −18 °C. Fillets were subjected to freezing/thawing (F/T) cycles (0, 3, 6, and 12 cycles) before measuring biochemical and textural properties. Trimethylamine-N-oxide demethylase (TMAOase), formaldehyde (FA) and dimethylamine (DMA) contents in the HF group significantly increased as F/T cycles repeated. FA and DMA content at 12-F/T decreased when refrigeration time before filleting increased. Decreases in surface hydrophobicity at 12-F/T led to textural toughening of frozen fillets due to protein aggregation by FA. F/T, which mimics long-term commercial frozen storage, possibly accelerated the release and accumulation of TMAOase through due to ice crystal formation and its subsequent growth. As a result, rapid quality deterioration was observed as F/T was repeated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)50-55
Number of pages6
JournalFood Bioscience
Volume16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Dec 1
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alaska pollock fillets
  • Freezing/thawing
  • Pre-freezing
  • Textural toughness
  • Trimethylamine-N-oxide demethylase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Biochemistry

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