Sensory analysis to assess the freshness of Mediterranean anchovies (Engraulis encrasicholus) stored in ice

A quality index method and a sensory scheme were developed to assess raw and cooked Mediterranean anchovies (Engraulis encrasicholus), respectively. Fresh anchovies were stored in ice for 7 days in three trials. The changes in sensory punctuations showed satisfactory correlations with time of storage. Enterobacteria were the first microorganisms that exceeded the maximum allowable limit for marketable fish according to the Spanish regulations, reaching more than 103 colony former units/g after 5 days of storage. Receiver operating characteristic curves of the sensory scores of raw and cooked anchovy against Enterobacteria counts were used to corroborate the suitability of the schemes. Areas under the curves were satisfactory and the estimated rejection values ranged from 0.43 to 0.51 and from 6.6 to 7.1 for raw and cooked anchovies, respectively.