Why Are Seafood Additives Necessary?
The sea has long offered humans an almost inexhaustible supply of edibles ranging from crustaceans, cephalopods, and finfish of all shapes and sizes to seaweed. Despite the threatened dangers of overfishing and the steady rise in the levels of marine pollution, there has been an exponential increase in the number of consumers now enjoying these marine delights. However, what most consumers remain unaware of is the importance of seafood additives and their role in maintaining the quality of the world’s fish and chip suppers, scampi in the basket, and Cajun calamari steaks.
The population of the sea, however, is not limited to those creatures that have a place on our tables. The marine environment is also home to a variety of microorganisms of which some species, such as Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, can be harmful and even fatal to humans. In addition to these pathogenic strains, however, there are also other species present that can cause spoilage of fish, once caught. In practice, seafood additives are necessary both for the control of pathogenic microorganisms and those responsible for spoilage, given that the appearance of food products, in general, tends to be just as important to the consumer as the reassurance that they are safe to eat. This is equally true of their texture and taste.
While the objectives of introducing these substances into edible marine products may be to ensure food safety and to preserve or enhance its natural texture and colour, it is crucially important that the seafood additives themselves conform to certain required standards of quality. This is a stipulation that calls for stringent quality-control measures to be introduced and adhered to by the manufacturers of these products. International bodies, including the European Union, the United Nations, the Food and Drug Administration, and the World Health Organisation have defined the standards with which producers must comply in their various jurisdictions.
In practice, the addition of seafood and other food additives is authorised only if there is a technological need for them, if they present no health hazard, and if they do not mislead the consumer. Contrary to popular opinion, most are derived from natural sources and include polyphenols extracted from tea and essential oils obtained from herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano. Naturally occurring organic acids such as citric and lactic acids can also be used, for example, to inhibit the growth of organisms that could, otherwise, cause spoilage in freshly shucked oysters.
Different seafood additives can have different purposes and so it may even be necessary to introduce more than one into a product in some instances. Colours such as the pink and white that we have learned to associate with fresh prawns can tend to fade and lose their visual appeal without chemical intervention. Accordingly, in addition to agents that inhibit the proliferation of bacteria, there are also products whose purpose is to stabilise or, in some cases, to enhance the characteristic colours of our much-loved crustaceans.
To give frozen fish that attractive glazed look that is so appealing to consumers or to prevent the blackening that can occur in squid and octopus, there are also specific seafood additives. To ensure the safety and reliability of a world-class product, these and other adjuvants should be purchased only from Tequisa.
