Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

CHEMICAL AND MICROBIAL CHANGES AND SENSORY CHANGES OF MRIGAL (CIRRHINUS MRIGALA) STORED IN ICE

G. Praveen Kumar, G. Vidya Sagar Reddy, K. Dhanapal, P. Hari Babu and S. Abarna

Abstract

In the present study, an investigation was carried out on the quality assessment of Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) stored in ice for 22 days with intermediate ice exchange for every 24 hours through sensory, microbial and chemical analyses. Significant changes were observed in the proximate composition of ice stored Mrigal on different days (P < 0.01) except for minerals (P > 0.01). The organoleptic quality of the ice stored Mrigal was significantly (P < 0.01) influenced by the Total Volatile Base Nitrogen (TVBN), Thio Barbutric acid (TBA), Free Fatty Acids (FFA), Water Holding Capacity (WHC) and microbial counts. The Total Plate count of mesophilic bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus decreased continuously while Psychrophiles, Pseudomonas spp, Aeromonas spp and H2S producers increased in count. Escherichia coli, Faecal streptococci, Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were completely absent throughout the study. The maximum shelf life of Mrigal in ice based on the organoleptic quality was 20 days.