Effect of hot smoking treatment in improving Sensory and Physicochemical Properties of processed Japanese Spanish Mackerel Scomberomorus niphonius.

Japanese Spanish Mackerel (JSM) Scomberomorus niphonius (Cuvier 1832) is an important commercial fish species in South Korea. The postharvest handling, preservation, and storage of JSM have not been clearly understood, and therefore, it is very often oxidized to produce off-flavor while marketed as the raw or frozen state. To overcome these problems, the present study was designed to adapt the hot smoke processing technique for improving the sensorial, physicochemical, and microbial qualities of JSM with extended shelf life. The hot smoking (70°C) with different sawdusts at the different smoke times (0, 20, 25, and 30 min) was applied to process JSM fillet. The smoked JSM obtained higher sensory attributes (appearance, odor, taste, color, texture, and overall preferences) and suppressed bacterial growth, pH, volatile base nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid-reactive species, and trimethylamine N-oxide at an optimum smoking time of 25 min using oak sawdust. Moreover, it possessed higher nutritional value and beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 4.19 g/100 g, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), 1.82 g/100 g. The smoked JSM product extended shelf life up to 42 days at 10°C storage temperature. The overall findings indicate that the hot smoking technology with JSM could be effective in achieving good sensorial, nutritional, and functional attributes to the consumer.

Effect of Vacuum Packaging on Histamine Production in Japanese Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius) Stored at Various Temperatures.

The effect of polyethylene packaging (PEP) in air cushion and vacuum packaging (VP) on histamine related to the quality of Japanese Spanish mackerel (JS mackerel) was studied with samples stored at -20, 4, 15, and 25°C. The aerobic plate count (APC), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN), and histamine concentrations of the PEP and VP samples stored at 25°C increased as the storage time continued. The PEP and VP samples stored at temperatures below 15°C showed lower levels of APC, TVBN, and histamine, with VP samples having considerably lower levels of APC, TVBN, and histamine than PEP samples. For the frozen JS mackerel stored at -20°C for 2 months and then thawed and stored at 25°C, the VP treatment delayed the increases of TVBN and histamine longer than did the PEP treatment. Thus, the storage of VP JS mackerel at temperatures below 4°C could prevent quality deterioration and extend shelf life.

Determination of Histamine in Japanese Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius) Meat Implicated in a Foodborne Poisoning.

An incident of foodborne poisoning causing illness in seven victims due to ingestion of fried Japanese Spanish mackerel (JS mackerel; Scomberomorus niphonius) meat occurred in September 2014 in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan. Of the two suspected fish meats, one raw sample contained 3,318 ppm of histamine and one fried sample contained 1,906 ppm of histamine, levels which are greater than the potential hazard action level (500 ppm) in most illness cases. Given the allergy-like symptoms of the victims and the high histamine content in the suspected fish samples, this foodborne poisoning was strongly suspected to be caused by histamine intoxication. In addition, five histamine-producing bacterial strains isolated from suspected raw fish samples, capable of producing 152 to 1,020 ppm of histamine in Trypticase soy broth supplemented with 1.0% l-histidine, were identified as Hafnia alvei (one strain), Enterobacter aerogenes (two strains), Raoultella ornithinolytica (one strain), and Morganella morganii (one strain) by 16S rDNA sequencing with PCR amplification. Moreover, 12 raw fish samples and 39 fried fish samples from retail stores were collected and tested to determine the occurrence of histamine. Two of 12 commercial raw fish samples (16.7%) had histamine levels greater than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration guideline for decomposition of 50 ppm for scombroid fish or product or a combination of both. To our knowledge, this is the first report in Taiwan to demonstrate that the JS mackerel meat products could cause histamine intoxication.