Quality Attributes of the Most Common Consumed Fresh Fish in Saudi Arabia (original) (raw)

2016, nternational Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences. 2016; 5(2): 85-94

Although fish is an important food as a source of high biological value of protein and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, fish is a fast perishable food because of the high water activity and the high enzymatic activity in fish viscera. The main target of this study was to evaluate some sensory and chemical attributes of fresh fish samples from the Central Fish Market of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. However, 33 fresh fish samples of 11 species were randomly purchased from the Central Fish Market, El-Kaakia, Makkah, Saudi Arabia during spring 2015. These species are commonly consumed by the local population in Saudi Arabia. Sensory evaluation by quality index method and some chemical analysis such as biogenic amines were done. The obtained results showed that there were significant differences between all studied fish species in pH and TVN value at P>0.05. However, there were no any significant differences in case of fish quality%. It could be noticed that there were 8 samples from 33 samples exceeded pH value of 6.80, represented 24.24% of all samples, and there were 3 samples exceeded TVN value of 30mg/100g, represented 9.09% of all samples. As for quality %, there were 4 samples from 33 samples below 50%, represented 12.12% of all samples. Meanwhile, histamine content of studied fish samples ranged from 0.66±0.33 mg/100g in rusty parrot fish to 17.21±2.85 mg/100g in grey mullet. Eleven fish samples exceeded the permissible limit of tyramine represented 33.33%. The statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences between all studied fish samples in tyramine and phenethylamine content at P>0.05 with F value of 0.89 and 0.68, respectively. It is recommended to carry out the same study on other central fish markets such as Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. Consequently, a complete quality assurance system must be planned to be applied in any central fish market in Saudi Arabia. It should be considered some criteria such as refrigerated cars, sun protected receiving area, fish layer thickness, ice/fish ratio, using of fine ice, using of salty ice and mechanical refrigeration.