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Analysis of spoilage processes during fresh fish transport / Comparison of transport and packaging methods for fresh fish products – storage life study
The aim of the project "Best fresh fish transport" was to improve the handling of fresh fish products in container transport and thereby increase their shelf life and the possibility of further transport by sea from Iceland, but there are significant savings compared to transport by air. This report deals with the analysis of the damage processes that take place during the storage and transport of fresh fish products. A comparison was made of transport in foam plastic boxes and in ice scrapers in pots at different temperatures. Different embodiments of both packaging solutions were compared and assessment factors included temperature, total number of microorganisms, amount of damaged microorganisms, water resistance, amount of erratic base and sensory assessment properties. In general, there was relatively little difference between experimental groups during storage. Differences were found between groups in individual sensory evaluation factors, but this difference was not comparable between days and is therefore probably due to the interaction between heterogeneous raw material and too few evaluated samples. The freshness time of all groups was seven to eight days and the shelf life was about 10 days. The packaging solutions studied in the experiment, as well as the storage temperature, had little effect on the spoilage processes of the cod products. The variability was primarily due to the storage time.
The aim of the project "Optimisation of fresh fish transport" was to improve the handling of fresh fish products during sea freight and increase the shelf life and the possibility of further maritime transport from Iceland, involving significant savings relative to the air freight. The present report covers analysis of the deterioration processes occurring during storage and transportation of fresh whitefish products. Comparison was made between transportation in expanded polystyrene boxes and in slurry ice in tubs at different ambient temperatures. Different versions of both packaging solutions were compared with regard to temperature, total viable count, amount of spoilage bacteria, water holding capacity, total volatile nitrogen bases (TVB‐N) and sensory properties. There were in general relatively small differences between experimental groups during the storage period. Some difference was observed between groups with regard to few sensory attributes, but the difference was not comparable between days which was likely due to heterogeneous material and too small sampling size. The freshness period of all experimental groups was seven to eight days and the shelf life around 10 days. The packaging solutions explored in the present study, as well as storage temperature, had generally little effect on the deterioration processes occurring in the fresh cod product. The observed variation was primarily attributed to the storage time.