Composition of herring and cod fillets from the North and the Baltic Sea – Detecting added water

This study presents for the first time reference values determined by standardized methods of untreated cod (n = 30) and herring (n = 48) fillets from two fishing areas within the Baltic Sea FAO fishing area 27 IIIc (22) and the North Sea FAO 27 subarea IVb. This includes the different influences of species, habitat and season on water, protein and fat content. The average water content of herring fillets from FAO Area 27 IIIc (22) in December was 77.0% and 70.9%, respectively. This great difference demonstrates that it is difficult to establish a uniform value for the water, protein or fat content of herring fillets. In contrast, cod fillets from the Baltic Sea with an average water content of 79.7% and 79.5%, respectively, showed only a moderate difference. In addition, this study demonstrates that the water/protein ratio appears to be a good tool for detecting added water in fish products, especially for herring fillets as a fatty fish species.

Source: Food Control - July 16, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research