Liquid smoke is a natural product made up of smoke concentrate which is used to impart a smoky flavour without resorting to the traditional smoking technique: it is practical to use, cheap, easy to dose, able to control the presence of undesirable substances and, above all, with reduced environmental impact, unlike traditional smoking systems. On the other hand, it has a low preservation effect. Thus, the objective of this study was to design the production of an innovative fish product using liquid smoke in combination with natural compounds through three subsequent phases: 1) economic concept evaluation to assess the acceptability of the proposed product through a qualitative and quantitative investigation; 2) optimisation of the process (individuation of smoking liquid composition and process parameters) using modelling predictive tools, i.e. tertiary and secondary models; 3) product realization and its evaluation in terms of microbiological profile, chemical-physical parameters, and consumers' acceptability. Results show that sea bream and sea bass fillets could be sprayed using a solution composed by lemon extract (0.75%), acetic acid (0.5%), NaCl (2%), and liquid smoke (0.002%), packed under vacuum and stored at 4 degrees C for at least two weeks, during which spoilage bacteria maintained low cell loads. After 14 days, in fact, smoked fillets showed total viable count and psychrotrophs of about 5 log CFU/g, Pseudomonadaceae about 6 log CFU/g, while for Enterobacteriaceae cell loads of 2-3 log CFU/g were recorded. Other microbial groups were absent and pathogens were never detected. In addition, results from the consumer survey highlight that over 60% of the interviewed sample appeared inclined to accept innovation, with 50% of respondents also willing to pay a premium price of 20%, thus suggesting that the proposed eco-smoking technique could be adopted and help in ensuring a more sustainable food production.
Optimizing liquid smoke conditions for the production and preservation of innovative fish products
Racioppo, A;Speranza, B
;Pilone, V;Stasi, A;Sinigaglia, M;Corbo, MR
2023-01-01
Abstract
Liquid smoke is a natural product made up of smoke concentrate which is used to impart a smoky flavour without resorting to the traditional smoking technique: it is practical to use, cheap, easy to dose, able to control the presence of undesirable substances and, above all, with reduced environmental impact, unlike traditional smoking systems. On the other hand, it has a low preservation effect. Thus, the objective of this study was to design the production of an innovative fish product using liquid smoke in combination with natural compounds through three subsequent phases: 1) economic concept evaluation to assess the acceptability of the proposed product through a qualitative and quantitative investigation; 2) optimisation of the process (individuation of smoking liquid composition and process parameters) using modelling predictive tools, i.e. tertiary and secondary models; 3) product realization and its evaluation in terms of microbiological profile, chemical-physical parameters, and consumers' acceptability. Results show that sea bream and sea bass fillets could be sprayed using a solution composed by lemon extract (0.75%), acetic acid (0.5%), NaCl (2%), and liquid smoke (0.002%), packed under vacuum and stored at 4 degrees C for at least two weeks, during which spoilage bacteria maintained low cell loads. After 14 days, in fact, smoked fillets showed total viable count and psychrotrophs of about 5 log CFU/g, Pseudomonadaceae about 6 log CFU/g, while for Enterobacteriaceae cell loads of 2-3 log CFU/g were recorded. Other microbial groups were absent and pathogens were never detected. In addition, results from the consumer survey highlight that over 60% of the interviewed sample appeared inclined to accept innovation, with 50% of respondents also willing to pay a premium price of 20%, thus suggesting that the proposed eco-smoking technique could be adopted and help in ensuring a more sustainable food production.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
