Article info.

ABSTRACT

Received 04 Mar 2018
Revised 22 Jul 2018

Accepted 30 Nov 2018

Shelf life of fish fillets from tra catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) was evaluated on the basis of chemical, microbiological and sensory quality during storage. The catfish fillets packed in polyamide package combined with vacuum level of 60% were stored at 0, 4, 8, 12± 1.0°C. The quality of packed catfish fillets was assessed at the regular time intervals for a period of 25 days. The changes of quality were strongly dependent on the storage temperatures. The shelf-life of catfish fillets stored at 0, 4, 8, 12^oC was, therefore, prolonged up to 21, 11, 7 and 3 days, respectively. In addition, total volatile basic nitrogen correlated well (r = 0.953) with the total microbial counts while the total microbial counts also correlated well (r = 0.905) with lactic acid bacteria counts. However, the weak correlation was shown between the total volatile basic nitrogen and the lactic acid bacteria counts (r = 0.087). The results obtained can be used as a reference tool to improve fishery quality management and to minimize the economic losses as well.

Keywords

Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, quality changes, shelf life, temperature, Tra catfish fillet

Cited as: Ngoc, T.T.A., Trang, P.N. and Binh, L.N., 2018. Shelf-life evaluation of fresh catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) fillets at different storage temperatures. Can Tho University Journal of Science. 54(8): 124-130.