Effect of Rigor Stage and Pressurisation on Lipid Damage, Total Volatile Amine Formation and Autolysis Development in Palm Ruff Stored on Ice

Abstract

The effect of the rigor stage (pre or post) and previous high-pressure processing (HPP; 450 and 550 MPa for 3 min) was checked during the storage on ice of farmed palm ruff (Seriolella violacea). Fish processed in pre-rigor conditions led to higher and lower levels (p < 0.05) of moisture and lipid contents in chilled fish, respectively, when compared to their counterpart samples processed in the post-rigor stage. Pre-rigor fish showed a higher (p < 0.05) quality level than post-rigor samples according to the assessment of the K value (59.0–92.1 and 70.3–96.3 ranges, respectively), fluorescent compounds (0.29–1.11 and 0.37–1.90 ranges, respectively), free fatty acids (FFA) (15.1–188.0 and 33.8–232.5 g·kg−1 lipids ranges, respectively), and total volatile amines (216.3–387.6 and 217.7–412.2 g·kg−1 muscle ranges, respectively). Pressure-treated fish showed higher (p < 0.05) quality retention than non-treated samples according to the formation of fluorescent compounds (0.29–0.86 and 0.85–1.90 ranges, respectively), FFA (15.1–50.6 and 58.9–223.5 g·kg−1 lipids ranges, respectively), and total volatile amines (216.3–250.3 and 351.1–412.2 g·kg−1 muscle ranges, respectively) and the evolution of the K value (59.0–77.2 and 86.9–96.3 ranges, respectively). The use of pre-rigor fish and previous HPP is recommended for the commercialisation of the current species as a fresh product.