Effect of pressure shift freezing and pressure assisted thawing on sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) quality

TIRONI, V. A.; DE LAMBALLERIE, M; LE BAIL, A

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE

Institute of Food Technologist

Lugar: Chicago; Año: 2007 vol. 72 p. 381 - 387

0022-1147

Effects of pressure-shift freezing and/or pressure-assisted thawing on the quality of sea bass muscle were evaluated and compared with conventional (air-blast) frozen and thawed samples. Microstructural analysis showed a marked decrease of muscle cell damage for pressure-assisted frozen samples. According to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), protein extractability, and SDS-PAGE results, high-pressure treatment (200 MPa) produced a partial denaturation with aggregation and insolubilization of the myosin, as well as alterations of the sarcoplasmic proteins. Only small differences between high-pressure processes (freezing or/and thawing) were registered. High-pressure-treated systems led to a decrease of water holding capacity but differences between highpressure and conventional methods disappeared after cooking. Muscle color showed important alterations due to high-pressure treatments (increasing L* and b*).L* and b*).