Use of sterile and ozonized water as a strategy to stabilize the quality of stored refrigerated fresh fish

Hake (Merluccius merluccius) from the Galician inshore fishing fleet, has been used to study the effectiveness of sterile and ozonized water in the conservation of fresh fish. This water was used to wash the fish and to manufacture ice in flakes (Petfrost system). The fish is stored refrigerated in the holds of the boats for a period of up to 18 days. The fish samples came from five samples made at 17, 14, 12, 8 and 3 days from their capture to their arrival to port. Later, once on shore, they were kept refrigerated up 12 days at 2 °C. The results of this new processing were compared with those obtained by the traditional method, which consists of using only sea water for the washing and the manufacture of the ice. The results obtained from the study of microbiological, chemical and sensorial variables indicate a greater stability and quality of the hake, as compared with the traditional method, when the new treatment is applied. The study of the five hake samples, from different dates after capture, demonstrated that hake treated with the combined Petfrost system was, in all cases, less deteriorated than the control. The Petfrost hake stored in the boat for 12, 8 and 3 days, once on shore, could last one week conserved in a refrigerated state without deteriorating to the level of unacceptability. For the same conditions, only the control sample with three days of storage on board would be acceptable.