The influence of hygiene in catch handling on the storage life of iced cod and plaice

Abstract
Summary: Investigations of commercial fisheries in the North Sea and the Kattegat show that the bacterial load of the fish as caught is generally low. Substantial bacterial infection may occur, however, during sorting, gutting and other fish handling on deck, depending on the hygienic standard on board.The influence of the hygiene in catch handling on the storage life of iced cod and plaice was studied at all seasons of the year.During the first week of iced storage, no difference was found in the eating quality and in the contents of TVA in plaice and TVB in cod, whether the initial bacterial infection was low, medium or high. The three levels of infection were the result of very clean, reasonably clean and very dirty handling conditions, respectively. During the second week of storage, little difference was found between fish handled under very clean or reasonably clean conditions. Very dirty conditions, however, resulted in a slightly faster decrease of quality and in 1–3 days reduction in the total storage life in ice.

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