Slurry ice as an alternative cooling medium for fish harvesting and transportation: Study of the effect on seabass flesh quality and shelf life

The objective of the study was to investigate the efficiency of slurry ice during harvesting and transportation of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) to retain flesh quality and extend shelf life, compared with conventional flake ice. Fish was slaughtered and transported in different mixtures of slurry ice and conventional flake ice (C: slaughtered and transported in 100% flake ice-Control samples, SC: slaughtered in 100% slurry ice and transported in 100% flake ice, S50: slaughtered and transported in 50% slurry ice-50% flake ice, S100: slaughtered and transported in 100% slurry ice) and subsequently stored under controlled isothermal conditions at 0 °C for shelf life modelling and flesh quality evaluation (proteolytic enzymes). The replacement of conventional flake ice with slurry ice as a slaughtering method led to improved quality stability during subsequent refrigerated storage and shelf life extension, in terms of microbial growth, flesh quality and sensory degradation of fish. Based on microbial growth, the shelf life of C samples was found to be 19 days, whereas the shelf life of S50/S100 and SC was 21 and 25 days, respectively, showing that the replacement of flake ice with slurry ice resulted in 2–6 days shelf life extension of whole sea bass stored at 0 °C. The use of slurry ice at slaughter and flake ice in transportation was accompanied by low activities and late peaks of all four enzymes that is expected to lead to delayed proteolytic degradation and extended freshness.