Study of the Quality Characteristics in Cold‐Smoked Salmon ( Salmo Salar ) Originating from Pre‐ or Post‐Rigor Raw Material

• Published in: Journal of Food Science
• Main Authors: Birkeland, S., Akse, L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2010
• Subjects: Food Science; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01836.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1750-3841.2010.01836.x

Abstract: Improved slaughtering procedures in the salmon industry have caused a delayed onset of rigor mortis and, thus, a potential for pre‐rigor secondary processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rigor status at time of processing on quality traits color, texture, sensory, microbiological, in injection salted, and cold‐smoked Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ). Injection of pre‐rigor fillets caused a significant ( P < 0.001) contraction (–7.9%± 0.9%) on the caudal‐cranial axis. No significant differences in instrumental color ( a *, b *, C *, or h *), texture (hardness), or sensory traits (aroma, color, taste, and texture) were observed between pre‐ or post‐rigor processed fillets; however, post‐rigor (1477 ± 38 g) fillets had a significant ( P > 0.05) higher fracturability than pre‐rigor fillets (1369 ± 71 g). Pre‐rigor fillets were significantly ( P < 0.01) lighter, L *, (39.7 ± 1.0) than post‐rigor fillets (37.8 ± 0.8) and had significantly lower ( P < 0.05) aerobic plate count (APC), 1.4 ± 0.4 log CFU/g against 2.6 ± 0.6 log CFU/g, and psychrotrophic count (PC), 2.1 ± 0.2 log CFU/g against 3.0 ± 0.5 log CFU/g, than post‐rigor processed fillets. This study showed that similar quality characteristics can be obtained in cold‐smoked products processed either pre‐ or post‐rigor when using suitable injection salting protocols and smoking techniques. Practical Application: It is possible to produce smoked salmon from raw material in a pre‐rigor state. Thus, avoiding storage of fillets for 3 to 4 d until rigor mortis has resolved.