89A-22

D. NIELSEN, North Carolina State Univ., Dept. of Food Science, Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, 303 College Circle, Morehead City, NC 28557 and G. Hyldig, Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, Dept. of Seafood Science, Technical Univ. of Denmark, Soltofts plads, Building 221, Kgs. Lyngby, 2800, Denmark.

Marinated herring is one of the most popular traditional herring products in Denmark. Of the 200,000 to 300,000 tons of herring landed in Denmark every year, between 55 and 90% are used for human consumption; and of this amount app. 35% are processed into various marinated products. Each company has its own recipes. However, very little documentation is available on the sensory properties of these products.The objective of this project was to describe the sensory properties of some of the most commonly found marinated products on the Danish market. Six marinated herring products were purchased from local retail stores. An expert panel consisting of five trained panelists evaluated the products using 26 descriptors that were evaluated on a 15 cm long line scale. Each panelist evaluated the products individually and then a consensus profile was established. The sensory profile included appearance on the meat side (5), appearance on the skin side (6), odor (4), flavor (6), and texture (5). Multivariate data analysis was used to compare the obtained results. Large differences were found between the 6 products and they could be divided into groups based on their sensory profiles. Three products contained many of the desired sensory properties, e.g. firm texture and silvery appearance or juicy texture, and sweet, fatty and spicy odors and flavors, while other 3 products were described with typical quality defects, e.g., yellow edges and rancid odor and flavor and gaping. The results show that the Danish consumer can experience a varying quality of marinated herring. However, this study also showed that it is difficult or in many cases even impossible for the consumer to evaluate the quality of the product, they consider buying, because the fillets are often packed in opaque containers and the varying quality cannot be deduced from purchase price or labeling information, e.g. ‘sell by' dates.

Session 89A, Aquatic Food Products: General
2:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Tuesday PM Room Hall I-2

2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana