Resumo

TOME, Elisabetta; IGLESIAS, Maybelyn; KODAIRA, Makie  e  VALLS, Jaime. Efecto del tiempo de retardo en la refrigeración sobre la frescura de la Tilapia (Oreochromis spp) cultivada. An Venez Nutr [online]. 2001, vol.14, n.1, pp.03-08. ISSN 0798-0752.

The tilapia (O. mossambicus x O. urolepis hormorum x O. niloticus x O. aureus) farmed in Venezuela represents an important resource due to its low price and high protein content. However in order to guarantee its rational use, this product should reach the consumer under optimal conditions of freshness. This requirement has stimulated research on the effect of refrigeration delay on the stability of tilapia  during storage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of three refrigeration delay times, RDTs, (0 h, 4 h, 8 h) on the stability of the tilapia stored in ice (0⁰C ± 3⁰C) for 21 days, by means of pH determinations, Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVBN), concentrations of individual nucleotides (adenosine monophosphate, AMP; inosine monophosphate, IMP, inosine, INO; hipoxanthine,  Hx). A descriptive scale also evaluated sensory changes during 21 days of refrigerated storage. Results showed that independently of the RDT considered, a fast PH drop (P< 0.05) took place at the beginning of the storage period, being more rapid in fish stored after a RDT of 8 h, as compared to fish stored after RDTs of 4 h and 0 h respectively. The TVBN at the end of the storage period reached values near to 28 mg N% for each condition of RDT. The IMP degraded progressively and faster (P< 0,05) as the RDT increased, along with an accumulation of Hx together with small quantities of INO.  The sensory attributes depended on the RDTs evaluated (P <0,05); the tilapias stored immediately after the sacrifice (RDT = 0 h) had a shelf life of 21 days, in comparison with those with RDTs of 4 and 8 h whose shelf lives were of 15 and 12 days, respectively. The tilapia seems to accumulate hipoxanthine (Hx) parallely to the degradation of the inosine monophosphate (IMP), for each RDT considered.

Palavras-chave : Tilapia; freshness; stability in ice; ATP degradation products.