Modified atmosphere packaging of Fish

Abstract

Fresh fish and fishery products are fast perishable foods. They spoil by microbial, chemical and autolytic ‎changes. Therefore, it is recommended to handle fish quickly after catching and keep them at low ‎temperature in order to reduce undesirable changes. Icing or refrigeration has limited effect on ‎extending Shelf life of fresh fish. Therefore,  specialist start thinking of adopting an idea of altering the ‎atmosphere around the fish in a package by one or a mixture of gases to reduce undesirable changes in ‎fish that leads to spoilage and shorten the shelf life. This technique is called modified atmosphere ‎packaging (MAP). MAP was used widely for fishery products and specifically for fresh fish to retard ‎microorganisms growth and enzymatic activities. CO2, O2, and N2 are the common gases used in MAP for ‎fish and fishery products. Results from previous studies indicated that there is no unique gas formula ‎suitable for all fish species, but it varied depending on fish species, packaging materials and storage ‎temperature. The results of those studies also showed that the MAP retarded growth of anaerobic and ‎facultative anaerobic microorganisms by extending their lag phase growth; meanwhile, there is a risk ‎when prolonging the shelf life of fish stored under MAP might provide chance for growth of pathogenic ‎anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum. To avoid such a risk, it is necessary to package fish in ‎modified atmosphere containing >2% O2 and keep them at temperature <3.3 Co. For fatty fish species it ‎was found that using 100% CO2 gives lower TBA value  compared to gas mixture containing oxygen. It ‎was reported that treating fish and fishery products before packaging in MA by one of the following ‎natural and/or chemical substances such as Ozone, Orgeano, pyrophosphate, triphosphate, acetic acid, ‎ascorbic acid, sodium acetate, olive oil, thyme oil, potassium sorbate, lemon juice, trisodium phosphate, ‎disodium sulfate, sodium chloride, rosemary extract, and  nisin helped in prolonging the shelf life of fish ‎stored under MAP.‎

The objective of this review was to demonstrate the impact of MAP and the combination of several ‎natural and/or chemical additives on spoilage microorganisms, pathogenic bacteria and rancidity on ‎extending shelf life of fish and fishery products. Moreover, discussing safety and quality concerns raised ‎about using MAP for fish and fishery products, and extracting conclusions and recommendations, ‎whether or not, concerning the possibility of continuing adoption of  MAP for fish and fishery products, ‎and what further studies needed to answer questions come out from this review.‎

Key words: Fish, Fish spoilage, Modified atmosphere packaging, Fat oxidation, Gas mixture.‎

‎*Corresponding Author: Tawfik M. Hassan, Food Sci. and Tech. Dept., Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli.‎

Phone.+‎‏ 218925037007‏‎.  E-mail: t.hassan@ uot.edu.ly ‎