Efeito do tipo de embalagem sobre a qualidade do pescado de peixes do Rio Uruguai

Abstract

Fish has fast spoilage through biochemical, oxidative and microbiological reactions, which start at the moment of capture and result in odors and undesirable aspects in the meat. Therefore, it is important to focus on a good conservation, through adequate packaging and good storage, in order to minimize the deterioration process. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of vacuum packaging in relation to conventional packaging (plastic bags) on the shelf life and quality of fish from the Uruguai river. Fifteen specimens of each species were acquired (grumatã, pati and piava), and two treatments were evaluated (conventional and vacuum storage), with three replications each. The physical-chemical parameters were evaluated at 0, 15, 30, 60 and 90 days after processing. The proximate composition was analyzed at the beginning (day 0) and at the end (90 days) of the experimental period. The collected data were submitted to the Shapiro-Wilk test (P<0.05), analysis of variance (ANOVA) ant “t” test, analyzing the significance at 5% (P<0.05). For the physicochemical analyses, grumatã showed significant differences in pH (at 15 days), peroxides (at 30 days), TBARS (at 15 days) and BNVT (at 90 days) with higher values in the conventional treatment. Pati showed differences for pH (at 90 days) with higher values in the vacuum treatment, TBARS (at 15 and 60 days) with higher values in the conventional treatment at the end of the period and BNVT (0, 15 and 60 days) with the lowest values in the vacuum treatment. Piava showed significant differences only in pH (at 60 days) with higher values in the conventional treatment. Regarding the analysis of proximate composition, no significant differences were found for the three species studied in relation to the type of packaging during the experimental period. According to the observed results, it is possible to conclude that the type of packaging influences the shelf life of the fish, showing a tendency of vacuum storage to maintain a better conservation of the properties of the fish, inhibiting the chemical oxidation reactions that occur in the meat when during storage and consequently delaying the degradation of the meat.