Intrinsic & Extrinsic parameters

controlling Fish Spoilage

Dr. Subhendu Datta
Sr. Scientist
CIFE, Kolkata Centre, India

Extrinsic parameters
Temperature of storage
Relative humidity
Oxygen concentration
Salinity
Exhaustion of fish before catch
Load of external microorganisms in the fish
body
By controlling these parameters it is possible to
control spoilage.

Storage Temperature
Higher the temperature quicker the dissolution of rigor
and onset of autolysis and bacterial decomposition.
Each bacterial species has a range of temperature in
which it has optimum growth.
Also there is a minimum temperature below which the
growth does not take place and a maximum temperature
above which bacteria cannot grow.
Cold loving bacteria Psychrophilic (0(0-200C). Opt 150C e.g.
e Psuedomonas
Mesophilic bacteria 2020-450C, Opt. 30 - 370C, e.g. Salmonella typhi.
Thermophilic bacteria 4545-700C, Opt 550C, e.g. Clostridium botulinum.

Temp
Therefore, most of the spoilage bacteria grow faster with
the rise in temperature, thereby produce unpleasant endendproducts.
Therefore, the practical way to preserve fish in good
condition is to store the fish at low temperature.
After landing, fish should be immediately cooled down to
the temperature of melting ice to retard quality loss.
Chilling, however, only slows down the microbial activity,
since psychrophilic bacteria are able to survive in chilled
fish.

Temp.
"Gaping" depends on temperature; the higher
the temperature of fish at the beginning of the
rigor mortis process the greater the gaping of
the muscle.
Gaping is muscle separation in fish fillets (during
storage) which is considered a quality defect.
Therefore, during rigor mortis fish temperature
should be as low as possible.

Temp
Fish body temperature is a decisive factor in the
onset and duration of the rigor mortis process.
The higher the temperature the sooner it begins and
the faster it ceases.
For example, for roach and perch kept at 0
0C, rigor
mortis begins 24 hours after death and lasts for 7272-80
hours.
When the same species is kept at 35
35C, it begins 2020-30
minutes after death and stops after about 3 hours.

Temp..
This is evidenced by enzymatic reactions whose
speed increases with increased temperature.
At high temperatures it results in greater changes in
proteins, the latter causing higher loss of tissue
juices during processing.
Usually, the later rigor mortis begins and the longer
it lasts, the longer are the storage life of the fish and
its use for consumption.

Temp
Chilling and freezing is an effective way of
reducing spoilage in fish, if it is done quickly,
handled carefully and hygienically.
Higher the temperature of storage, shorter the
shelf life of fish.
As a general rule, for every hour that the fish are
kept at ambient temperature the equivalent of
one day's storage life is lost and for every 50C
and 00C that they are stored, the storage life in
ice is reduced by half.

Temp
Freezing is by far the best method of heat
removal of fish.
The faster the freezing process, the lesser the
spoilage. Therefore, quick freezing is adopted
commercially.
The recommended level at which the
temperature of the fish has to be brought down
is -300C and the interior part of the fish has to be
-200C.

R.H.
Higher the R.H. higher the chances of spoilage
by bacteria.
Small fishes can be salted and dried within 2
days, but during inclement weather when the
R.H. is high the period could extend to 55-7 days.
This results in poor quality of fish due to
harbouring of spoilage bacteria and insect
larvae.

Fish Catching Technique or

Exhaustion of fish before catch
The concentration of lactic acid formed due breakdown of glucose is found to
be dependent on the glycogen reserves of the muscle prior to death.
death.
The glycogen reserve of the muscle is directly related to the struggle
struggle the fish
has undergone prior to capture and death.
The greater the struggle the fish has experienced the lesser are its glycogen
reserves and the onset of rigor mortis becomes rapid.

Therefore, Rigor mortis proceeds very quickly in very active fish but rather
slowly in inert fish.
One consequence of the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscle is the
lowering of pH from near neutrality (pH 7.0) to the lactic acid range (pH 6.0).
The decline of pH affects the quality of the fish tissues, in that
that flesh become
firmer and tendency to drip enhances. But after the death of fish
fish acidic pH is
better than alkaline pH to prevent microbial decomposition.

Fish Catching Technique/handling.

In those fish which are in good condition (well(well-nourished)
rigor mortis is more intensive. Fish put to death just after
removal from the water reach a state of rigor mortis later
than those fish which died after a long agony.
In the case of carp put to death just after capture rigor
mortis begins after 48 hours, but if the carp died after a
long agony it sets in after 24 hours (at 0
0 C).

Unnecessary and rough handling of the fish can shorten

the time of occurrence and duration of rigor mortis.
mortis. Such
treatment causes stress in live fish.

handling
Efficient handling immediately after shrimp
harvest is very effective in preventing
black discolouration on raw shrimp.
Tyrosinase and polyphenol oxidase, that
catalyse black spot formation, are present
in large quantities in the digestive system
of the shrimp.

Oxygen concentration
Oxidative rancidity - Oxidation of fish oils yielding the
rancid odours and tastes which are the major problem
encountered in fish storage.
Lowering of oxygen level reduce the magnitude of rancidity
Aerobic - Bacteria which grow only in the presence of air.
e.g. Micrococcus.
Anaerobic - Bacteria which grow only in the absence of
oxygen. e.g. Clostridium sp.
Facultative Bacteria grow in presence or absence of
oxygen. Ex. Salmonella, Vibrio
Microaerophilic bacteria grow better in the presence of
very little free oxygen. Ex. Lactobacillus, Streptococcus

Salinity
Halophilic - Bacteria which grow best in the
presence of salt.
e.g. Serratea salinaria.
Halophobic - Bacteria which cannot tolerate salt
concentrations higher than 6%.
e.g. Achromobacter, Pseudomonas.
The population and nature of bacterial flora
depend on the waters from where the fish are
caught i.e. whether from sea water, brackish
water or fresh water.

Depending on the salinity and pollution range of waters,

the bacterial flora of fishes vary from water to water.
Majority of bacterial flora of marine fishes are gram
negetaive,
negetaive, nonnon-spore forming rods or cocci.
cocci.
Bacterial flora fresh water fishes are predominantly gram
positive in nature.
There are large number of bacterial types in marine
water than Fresh water

Load of external microorganisms in

the fish body
Fish often get contaminated through woodenwooden-boxes, ice, dressingdressing-tables
etc., which usually carry heavy bacterial load.
Proper treatment of surfaces, equipments etc., with disinfectants
disinfectants and
detergents, and use of potable water for washing and iceice-making are
necessary to reduce bacterial contamination.
The initial bacterial load and the nature of contaminants play a vital role in
the deterioration of fish in the later stages.
Slime contains large amounts of nitrogenous compounds and these provide
good nourishment for micromicro-organisms originating from the environment.
Fish which secrets more slime, contains more microorganisms from the
environment
After bringing to the factory, the fish are washed with flowing water to
remove the heavily contaminated slime.

Intrinsic parameters

Intrinsic quality means the sum of attributes that

are inherent in the harvested raw material

(Connel,
Connel, 1980).

It is somehow more difficult to control the

inherent properties of fish tissues that influence

enzymatic and microbial spoilage of fish.

The intrinsic moisture content, pH, physical and

chemical nature of fish (fresh or marine), in part,

control the number and types of microorganisms
involved in the spoilage process.

In the case of fish, caught in the wild, the

complete control or manipulation of intrinsic
quality is impossible.
But two types of control are possible. The first is
conscious selection of grounds, seasons or
fishing methods.
The second is selection or sorting from mixed
catches, the fish of desired quality.
In the case of cultivated fish active control of
intrinsic quality is feasible.

Factors affect the intrinsic quality

The factors that affect intrinsic quality are
Species
Size
Sex
Condition and composition
Parasites and other organisms
Naturally toxic fish
Contamination with pollutants

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Species
Certain fishes are generally costly as they are
rated as good fish
fish.
Ex. Rohu & Catla fetches more price than
Mrigal,
Mrigal, Silver carp, common carp, Tilapia
Marine fishes contains more lipid than
freshwater fishes.
Therefore, chances of rancidity is higher in
marine fishes than freshwater fishes.

Species
The time rigor mortis begins and its duration
depend on the fish species.
species.
For carp at 0
0C, it starts after 48 hours,
For roach and perch at 0
0C after 24 hours
It was also found that fast swimmers, for
example trout, undergo rigor mortis faster but for
a shorter duration than slow swimmers like carp.
carp.

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Species
Fish which secrete great quantities of slime have poorly
developed scales; very often the quantity of slime
reaches 22-3% of the fish mass and that in turn creates
problems during processing.
Slime contains large amounts of nitrogenous compounds
and these provide good nourishment for micromicroorganisms originating from the environment.
Therefore, the slime spoils quickly: first giving an
unpleasant smell to the fish, and second opening the
way for further and deeper bacterial penetration into the
fish.

Species
During storage
Non-fatty (or white fish) keep longer than
fatty fish.
Freshwater fish keep longer than marine
fish
Fish from warm waters keep longer than
fish from temperate waters.

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Size
In general, large fish of a given species fetch the
higher price, for example, shrimp, Scampi, crab,
lobster.
The % yield of edible material is higher and
handling cost per unit weight is lower in large
fish of a given species.

It is a fact that large fish keep better than small

fish. This can be attributed to:
The smaller surface area to volume ratio for
large fish so that in the same time period, less of
the interior of large fish is affected by spoilage
micromicro-organisms penetrated from the surface to
the interior.
Small fish of a given species tend to have a
higher postpost-rigor pH than large fish of the same
species, thus giving rise to the greater bacterial
action.

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Sex
In certain species, the females are of very
poor quality soon after spawning.
The canned product made from female
Capelin (Malloters villosus) is very
different from that made from male
capelin.

Condition & Composition

During certain period fish appear thinner,
flabbier and less lively, the flesh being more
watery and softer and containing less protein
and fat.
The fat content of many species vary
considerably throughout the year.
After spawning the fat content of many fishes
vary considerably.

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Parasites, bacteria
Sea fishes can harbour protozoa and intestinal worms
which are dangerous
Intrinsic bacteria and viruses in the slime, gill, guts and
intestine of the fish
Bacterial population in fish body:
Skin surface < gill tissue < Intestine
Summer months > winter months

Naturally Toxic fish

Due to Ciguatera toxicity in the flesh of fish
& shellfish inhabiting shallow waters in or
near subtropical coral reefs.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning in molluscs &
calms during the period of in the high
concentration of dinoflagellates in sea.
These poisoning spoil the fishes in source.

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Contamination with pollutants

Metals (Hg), chlorinated hydrocarbons,

Mineral oils, radioactive isotopes,
antibiotic residues etc. contaminate the
fishes in source and are therefore,
intrinsic in nature.

Moisture content of fish body

Higher the moisture content higher will be the spoilage.
Bacteria need water for growth and multiplication. Below a
minimum level of water activity (aw), microorganisms cannot
grow.
When we dry fish, water is removed from the fish muscle to
a level below 0.9, so that bacterial action is completely
prevented.
By drying & salting, the moisture content of fish is brought
around 38% when bacterial growth is inhibited.
When the moisture content of fish is reduced to 25%,
autolytic activity is greatly reduced, while mould growth is
prevented if moisture level is reduced to 15%.

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pH
Lower the pH lower the decomposition by
bacteria.
Acidophiles - Bacteria which can survive at a pH
of 4.5 and below. e. g. Lactic acid bacteria.
Example: Fish silage is preserved against the
microbial spoilage mainly by the lowered pH,
obtained by the added or in-situ produced acid.
Specifically, the unionized acid molecules are
able to cross the cytoplasmic membrane barrier of
the microbial cell while protons (H+) and acid
anions cannot.

pH
But once inside the bacterial cell, the acid molecule can
ionize, and since the membrane traps the ions, the pH
gradually comes down killing the cell.
Thus, it is the unionized acid molecules that are
responsible for the preservative action rather than the
total acid concentration.
At equal concentrations, organic acids are weekly
ionized in solution compared to inorganic acids, thus
contain greater amounts of unionized (free) acid
molecules making them more effective preservatives.

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pH.
Once the rigor mortis ceases, bacterial
spoilage becomes rapid.
This is accompanied by the rise of muscle
pH from acidic range to alkaline range
(sometimes upto pH 8) due to
accumulation of volatile bases like
ammonia and trimethyl amine (TMA)
produced by spoilage of fish.

pH
Spoilage bacteria present is the fish tend to minimize the
rich free amino acid pool present as energy source and
produce ammonia thereby increase the pH (by
deamination reaction caused denaturation of protein).
Number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) present in fish are
too few to result in their dominance over much greater
number of spoilage microflora.
microflora.
Because of this reason, sugar and innoculum of lactic
acid bacteria is added in fish silage to provide a head
start to lactic acid fermentation.

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Physical and chemical nature of

fish (fresh or marine)
Already discussed before under the
title Species.

Summary
So to reduce the spoilage of fish during storage;
Reduce the temperature of storage (< - 200C)
Reduce the moisture content of the fish (<20%)
Reduce the pH (< 7) of stored fish
Reduce the rough handling of fish during catching, packing,
storing etc.
Reduce R.H., O2 during storage
Reduce storing of smaller sized fish
Reduce the time lag between catching of fish and
preservation

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