Contact
Valur Norðri Gunnlaugsson
Research Group Leader
valur.n.gunnlaugsson@matis.is
Improved quality of herring for human consumption
Herring is one of the most important fish species in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. Although a large part of the catch goes to human consumption, about 85% of herring is processed into fish oil and flour. There is a general desire to increase the consumption of herring for human consumption. It was important to study the different factors that affect the quality of herring and especially how they are controlled by biological conditions. The main reason for the quality problems in herring is the high content of compounds that promote development, and affect the color and texture changes, as well as the loss of nutrients. Better quality results in increased competition for herring production in the Nordic countries, as well as a positive consumer attitude towards herring products. The main goal of the project was to improve the quality and quantity of herring, for consumption, by researching the quality of the raw material after fishing. Emphasis was placed on quality immediately after fishing and the quality of the raw material after varying periods of frost. Factors such as fishing location and fishing time did not affect the quality of the herring. However, freezing at -20 ° C had a significant effect on the quality of the raw material.
Herring is one of the most important fish species in the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea, with an annual catch exceeding 2 million tonnes. Although a large part of these fish is used for human consumption, as much as 85% of the herring is used for industrial production of fish meal and fish oil. There is a general wish to increase the utilization of herring for human consumption. Thus, it was important to study the various parameters which influence the quality of herring, and in particular how these paramenters are controlled by biological factors. A major reason behind quality problems arising during post-harvest handling of herring is its high content of compounds that efficiently catalyzes the development of rancidity, pigmentation, texture changes and loss of nutritional value. Improved quality will result in increased competitiveness of the Nordic fish processing industry and would improve the attitude among consumers towards herring products. The general objective of the project was to improve the quality and quantity of herring to be used for food production by investigating how natural variation in raw material characteristics affects post-harvest quality. Attention was given to the quality immediately after landing and the quality after period of frozen storage. The results indicated no clear differences in the quality of herring regarding catching place or season. The frozen storage for a prolonged time had the major influence on the quality of herring fillets.