Konstantina Sfyra

The quality and preservation potential of dry‐aged monkfish (DM) in maturation bags and unprocessed fresh monkfish (FM) fillets were evaluated during cold storage (1.5°C ± 0.5°C), using quality index method (QIM), microbial analysis, and cadaverine measurements. The quality index (QI) increased linearly with storage (FM, R ² = 0.88; DM, R ² = 0.87), revealing a 4‐ to 5‐day shelf life extension for DM compared to FM. This was confirmed by microbiological results, with total viable counts (TVC) being significantly ( p < 0.01) higher for FM than DM on the day of rejection, defined by QIM at D10 and D14, with TVC accounting for 8.8 ± 0.1 and 7.5 ± 0.4 log(CFU/g), respectively. Predominant spoilage bacteria present in the FM and DM were Pseudomonas spp. and Shewanella spp. accounting for 60% and 30% of isolates ( n : 30), respectively, whereas Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli were not detected in either treatment. Cadaverine levels observed were within safety limits for the extended shelf life period and increased exponentially with storage (FM, R ² = 0.83; DM, R ² = 0.96), whereas a significant ( p < 0.05) correlation was observed with QI scores for both FM ( r  = 0.92) and DM ( r  = 0.88). Associating the results of QIM to the sensory descriptive analysis revealed that the cooked fillets’ “eating quality” reflected the uncooked fillets’ odor quality. Overall, dry‐aging via maturation bags can be considered a suitable and applicable preservation method for monkfish and other lean fish that can safely extend the shelf life while retaining or even enhancing their sensory eating quality.

The current study aimed to explore the effects of mild processing for shelf-life extension on the raw an-d cooked quality of gilthead seabream fillets stored at 2 °C. Control and Treated (via osmotic dehydration) fillets were sampled at the beginning (D1), middle (D5) and end (D7) of commercial shelf life. The raw quality was evaluated via the quality index method (QIM), microbial measurements and for D1 through tetrad discrimination testing. The cooked quality was evaluated for the same samples via sensory descriptive analyses with a trained panel. The tetrad results indicated similar characteristics between treatments for raw fillets on D1 and a 29% shelf-life extension for Treated fillets vs. the Control ones, defined by Quality Index Method and microbial measurements. The raw quality was reflected in the cooked quality of the tissue, with the Treated fillets exhibiting less intense spoilage-related sensory attributes as well as enhanced or retained freshness-related attributes throughout storage, when compared to the Control ones. A range of treatment induced sensory characteristics, partly associated to Maillard reactions, were developed in the Treated fillets. Overall, the treatment affected positively both the raw and cooked quality of the fillet, showing promising results as a shelf-life extension method for fish fillet preservation.