Lipid damage detection during the frozen storage of an underutilized fish species

Lipid damage was studied on an underutilized fish species (blue whiting, Micromesistius pontassou). Blue whiting fillets were frozen at -40 degrees C and stored at -30 and -10 degrees C up to 1 year. Primary and secondary lipid oxidation products, interaction compounds and lipid hydrolysis were studied on the fish white muscle. At -30 degrees C most of the lipid damage indices tested (free fatty acids, peroxide value, conjugated dienes, thiobarbituric acid index and fluorescence detection) showed a significant (p < 0.05) correlation with the storage time. However, as the fish damage increased (-10 degrees C condition) only the free fatty acids and fluorescence detections provided satisfactory correlations with the storage time (r(2) = 0.94 and r(2) = 0.92, respectively), while reliability of the remaining indices decreased in order to assess lipid damage and fish deteriorative changes. (C) 2000 Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.