Abstract:In this study, the effect of cold, ozonized seawater on the quality of Trachurus japonicus (horse mackerel) meat during refrigerated storage was investigated with respect to the pattern of change in the aerobic plate count (APC), pH value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), color, texture, and sensory quality. Fish samples were divided into three treatment groups: tap water pretreatment (group A), cold seawater pretreatment (group B), and cold ozonized seawater pretreatment (group C), and stored at 4 ± 1 ℃. The results indicated that APC, TVB-N, and b* values of horse mackerels in the three groups increased with time during refrigerated storage. During the late stage of storage, the inhibitory effect of cold, ozonized seawater on APC and TVB-N by B and C pretreatments was significantly higher than that by pretreatment A, while the overall effect of pretreatment C was found to be better than that of pretreatment B (p < 0.05). On the tenth day, the APC and TVB-N values for the group A were 7.13 log CFU/g and 31.43 mg/100 g, respectively, which exceeded the acceptable limit for fish in China. Meanwhile, the sensory scores decreased with increasing storage time, where scores for group A decreased much faster than those for groups B and C. However, the degree of lipid oxidation for groups B and C was higher than that for A, indicating that cold seawater and ozone pretreatments may promote lipid oxidation. There were no significant effects of cold ozonized seawater treatment on pH, L*, a* values, and texture. In conclusion, the cold ozonized seawater treatment helped delay the decline in freshness indices for horse mackerel meat and maintained quality during refrigerated storage, thus prolonging shelf life.
