The Essentials of Seafood Quality Control
Yes, we can still purchase a chicken or some fresh veggies from farm stalls. Nevertheless, most of our edibles are the end product of a vast food and beverage processing industry. Typically, those vacuum-packed rump steaks or frozen cod fillets will have undergone multiple treatments. These ensure they will retain their visual appeal and flavours or, in some cases, even enhance them. Such processing is especially crucial in the case of marine species. Consequently, seafood quality control (QC) plays a continuing and vital role in ensuring consumer safety and satisfaction. So, what does this process entail?
Technically, the role of QC is to maintain a close watch on the handling of foodstuffs at each stage in the overall supply chain. The process involves intensive inspection and testing to ensure each product complies with the relevant food safety regulations. In the case of marine foodstuffs, that process will generally begin as soon as the contents of a trawler’s nets are winched aboard. At this stage, the primary purpose of the seafood quality control measures is to inhibit natural post-mortem decomposition that might adversely affect the characteristics that we associate with freshness.
Fish Preservation
Whether the landed catch will be sold to a local fishmonger and consumed within days or despatched to a factory to undergo further processing, that fresh appearance is crucial. Animal cells are the scene of constant biochemical activity associated with nutrition, respiration, and other vital functions whilst alive. However, many chemical reactions continue even after death and are often responsible for undesirable visible changes. Preventing such changes is a crucial part of the seafood quality control process and requires immediate attention.
Apart from unpleasant smells, appearances are generally the only way a consumer can determine whether fish products are fresh and safe to eat. Once they are pre-packaged and displayed on supermarket chilled racks, the purchaser can only view their colour and perhaps squeeze them to check their texture. Ironically, colour changes and even softening do not necessarily affect taste or safety. Nevertheless, these factors invariably affect customer perception. In turn, such perceptions have seen chemical additives become an essential feature of seafood quality control.
Even before fish and fish products reach the consumer, the inspection begins at the quayside. The freshly landed catch is sold at auction to local fishmongers and agents acting on behalf of hotels, restaurants, and food-processing companies nationwide. These buyers must also judge the value of each purchase by its appearance and will adjust their bids accordingly. Fishing boats and crews are expensive to operate, and owners can never guarantee the size of a catch. Instead, they must ensure the best price for whatever they land. Consequently, conserving visual appeal with suitable seafood quality control measures is as essential to the fishing industry as it is to resellers and consumers.
Naturally, it is equally vital to ensure that preservatives, such as those used to prevent blackening in prawns, maintain the intense colour of red roman, or retain the firm texture of ling and kingklip are safe and effective. Fish also host bacteria and other parasites, necessitating suitable disinfectants. Fisheries in Southern Africa and worldwide trust Tequisa for its extensive range of safe, natural, internationally compliant, and proven efficient additives, crucial to seafood quality control.
