Abstract:To provide a basis for the production of high-quality Micropterus salmoides products, the effect of different doses of 60Co-γ irradiation on the qualities (sensory and texture) of Micropterus salmoides products was studied. Micropterus salmoides samples were irradiated with 60Co-γ, the fuzzy mathematic method was adopted for the comprehensive evaluation of their sensory quality, and texture profile analysis and principal components analysis (PCA) (for dimensionality reduction) were performed for texture evaluation. The results showed that the level of sensory evaluation decreased with increasing irradiation doses. The sensory qualities of fish meat irradiated at doses of 0~4.78 kGy, 5.21 kGy, and 6.49~8.74 kGy were evaluated as “good”, “moderate”, and “poor,” respectively. A significant irradiation smell was generated at irradiation doses of 7.57 kGy and higher. From PCA, two principal components were screened out and their variance contribution rates were 57.011% and 27.832%, respectively. In combination with the loading plot of the principal components, the representative factors affecting the post-irradiation fish meat quality were determined to be gumminess and hardness, which showed no significant change (p>0.05) within an irradiation dosage range of 1.55~4.78 kGy. In summary, the sensory and texture of the Micropterus salmoides product can be maintained by using 1.55~4.78 kGy irradiation treatment. The results of this study lay a theoretical foundation for further study of radiation sterilization of Micropterus salmoides and other freshwater products.
