An Overview of Modern Seafood Quality Control
Since the dawn of the industrial revolution and the newfound ability to manufacture consumer goods en masse, people have raised concerns regarding the relative merits of painstakingly crafted hand-made items and mass-produced machine-made goods. Eventually, all manner of companies, from car manufacturers to seafood suppliers, have found it necessary to introduce quality control measures. For the automotive industry, the objective of such activities is primarily to ensure the dimensions of crucial components fall within acceptable limits. By contrast, the fishing industry’s aims are more about aesthetics and safety than precision.
It is often said that we eat with our eyes, and there is no doubt that the visual impact of a meal can add to its enjoyment. However, our concerns regarding the appearance of food extend even beyond the dining room and restaurant. Even when buying uncooked produce, such as seafood, visible evidence of quality tends to control our purchasing decisions.
Ultimately, however, it is invariably the smell and the taste of a particular food that will either keep someone returning for more or deter them for life. Anyone who has been eagerly waiting for their first bite of a succulent, deep-fried, battered skate, only to discover that it tastes and smells of ammonia, will understand this only too well. Preserving its taste, smell, texture, and colour are among the main aims of seafood quality control, together with ensuring that it is safe to eat.
Of all the animal protein we eat, that contained in fish tends to deteriorate most rapidly. Packing in ice and brine or freezing in solid blocks have long been the accepted methods for keeping a catch fresh until it has landed. Once on shore, however, these measures alone are no longer sufficient to preserve the characteristics that consumers tend to associate with freshness. For this purpose, the addition of suitable preservatives forms an essential part of seafood quality control.
In some countries, sellers often use formalin or ammonia to preserve foods like chicken and fish. However, with good reason, the use of these chemicals for such purposes has been banned by many others. Any additives used to preserve or enhance the natural characteristics of fish should ideally also be of natural origin or, at least, pose no potential health hazards to the consumer. To ensure responsible practices by the industry, regulatory bodies, such as the FDA, EU, and WHO set standards governing the use of additives for seafood quality control.
Tequisa specialises in the development and production of high-quality, internationally approved additives for use by the fishing industry. With more than a hundred such products developed to date, the company serves the industry in Southern Africa from outlets in all of the region’s major fishing ports.
Prawns and other crustaceans are among the most popular marine delicacies in the region. However, natural post-mortem blackening, known as melanosis, can deter consumers. To assist processors and resellers with seafood quality control, Tequisa offers additives that inhibit melanosis and preserve the pink or white flesh that consumers look for. Among the company’s other products are safe bactericides for general use and preparations to conserve the texture and flavour and increase the shelf-life of filleted fish, such as kingklip.