Carbon Monoxide Treatments to Impart and Retain Muscle Color in Tilapia Fillets
Published:June 26, 2008
Source :Journal of Food Science abstract
According to a report published on the Journal of Food Science by D. Mantilla, H.G. Kristinsson, M.O. Balaban, W.S. Otwell, F.A. Chapman, and S. Raghavan, Carbon monoxide (CO) has been used for improving the color of muscle foods.
In the current study, authors compared the postmortem treatment of tilapia fillets with 100% CO and euthanasia of live tilapia with CO for their ability to stabilize the color of white and red muscle of tilapia fillets.
Both postmortem CO treatment and CO euthanasia were effective in increasing the redness (a* value) and lightness (L* value) of tilapia white and red muscle. Fillets obtained from CO-euthanized tilapia showed significantly higher a* and L* values during 1 mo of frozen storage at –20 °C and subsequent thawing and storage at 4 °C for 18 d.
The amount of CO present in the red and white muscles decreased during the 18 d of storage at 4 °C. There was no significant difference in the pH, drip, or thaw loss of CO-treated tilapia fillets compared to the untreated fillets.
Authors Mantilla, Kristinsson, Balaban, Otwell, and Raghavan are with Aquatic Food Products Program, Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and author Chapman is with Dept. of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (USA).
