Food Preservation Products for the Seafood Market
All living creatures are subject to post mortem decay; it is part of a natural cycle in which plants provide nutrients for animals whose remains, together with dead vegetation, are subsequently metabolised by bacteria to provide nutrition for plants. Decay can render meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables unpalatable and even threaten the health of those who dine on them. Fortunately, there are food preservation techniques that can significantly delay the onset of decay and increase the shelf-life of perishable fresh produce.
Attempting to keep edibles fresh for longer is hardly a new idea. Despite the discomfort due to plummeting temperatures, the inhabitants of Arctic regions were fortunate to have the benefit of ice to preserve their seal meat and fish. There is also evidence that, as early as 12 000 BC, nomadic desert dwellers in the Middle East took advantage of the sun for food preservation. They relied on its heat to dry their meat, ensuring it would last for months. Today. we use drying cabinets, salt, and spices to prepare biltong, while Caribbeans dry and salt fresh cod in order to make bacalhau. In each of these cases, the principle remains the same.
The ability to keep foods fresh for prolonged periods was one of the main drivers of the transition from a nomadic existence to communal living in the settlements that, in time, would transform into cities, towns, and villages. For those who are involved in food preservation technology, fish and other marine species can pose a variety of challenges.
To give you an example, most marine creatures are home to numerous bacteria and other parasites. Fortunately, while in their salt-rich natural environment, these uninvited guests are seldom a problem for their hosts who do not suspect a thing. However, once they are trapped in a net and then hauled aboard a trawler, microorganisms can speed up the decay process and even produce harmful toxins that could endanger anyone that consumes them. Developing methods to halt that process long enough to remain safe and acceptable for consumption requires the creation of innovative products from food preservation specialists.
Although there are few things that are more likely to deter consumers than smelly fish, odours are not the only consequence of post-mortem change, and bacteria are not the only cause of such changes. Most of the foods sold today have undergone a degree of factory processing. We can still buy fish straight from a fishmonger’s slab, but because most fish is now pre-wrapped in transparent packaging, we rely more on our eyes than our noses in order to assess its freshness. For various reasons, without appropriate food preservation products, seafood can lose its colour or become discoloured, which leaves it unsaleable.
If you are in the mood for seafood, you want to be able to indulge without worrying about regretting the meal later if you get sick. Tequisa has developed over a hundred products to preserve the colour, taste, and texture of seafood and ensure it is free of harmful microorganisms and safe for consumers.
