Spoilage of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) in ice

Batches of gutted European hake (Merluccius merluccius) were stored for up to 21 days in ice. A scale for the sensory assessment of freshness was developed. Changes in total volatile bases, trimethylamine and adenine nucleotide decomposition products were measured and found to correlate highly with the sensory scores. Microbiological changes were measured by total viable count at 20°C, pseudomonad count and count of H2S producers. The counts were highly correlated with the sensory score.