Description and discrimination of freshness and biometric qualities of three different fishes: Grass carp, pacu, and catfish

The goal of this work was to wade into the freshness quality and biometric evaluation, by means of distinct statistical descriptive methods, on three fresh catch species of fish, as well as to evaluate the discriminant potential of the variables targeted in the study. The species grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus), and catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were caught at a rural property located in the city of Pato Branco, PR, Brazil. These fresh catch were weighed, measured, eviscerated, and cut into fillets for acquisition of biometric parameters. Freshness was judged by the analysis of the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) value and pH. The comparison between means and medians showed symmetries for biometric measures. Correlations between body measures and fillet yield showed a weak relation regardless of the species analysed, wherein the best equation for predictions was obtained by relating total weight to the fillet's weight. The biometric variables were the best discriminants for the species

Selección y entrenamiento de un panel para evaluar el defecto rancio en aceite de soja y hamburguesas de pescado

Due to its composition of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, oils and fats are very susceptible to oxidation, with rancidity being one of the main defects. Among the several existing methodologies to monitor oxidation in foods, sensory analysis stands out because of the sensitivity of responses. Accordingly, this study aimed to select and train a panel of expert assessors to identify the rancid flavor, showing the statistical steps in the process. Assessors were selected according to their individual performance, statistically analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s mean comparison, Wald Sequential Analysis and chi-square test. The validation of the trained panel was carried out with the sensory analysis of fish burgers and soybean oil. F Value and box-plot graphic methods were effective for better visualization of results when used along with the mean and standard deviation tables. The final trained panel consisted of seven assessors, who have been able to identify and differentiate rancid taste in both samples used for validation.Debido a su composición en ácidos grasos insaturados y poliinsaturados, los aceites y grasas son muy susceptibles a la oxidación, siendo la rancidez uno de los principales defectos. Entre las diversas metodologías existentes para seguir la oxidación en los alimentos, el análisis sensorial destaca por la sensibilidad de las respuestas. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo seleccionar y capacitar a un panel de catadores entrenados para identificar el sabor rancio y se muestra estadisticamente los pasos del proceso. Los catadores fueron seleccionados de acuerdo a su capacidad individual y estadísticamente analizados por ANOVA comparando las medias mediante Tukey, análisis secuencial de Wald y prueba de chi-cuadrado. La validación del panel entrenado se realizó con el análisis sensorial de hamburguesas de pescado y aceite de soja. El valor F y la representación gráfica boxplot fueron eficaces para una mejor visualización de los resultados cuando se utilizan junto con las tablas de desviación media y estándar. El panel final estuvo formado por siete catadores que fueron capaces de identificar y diferenciar el sabor rancio en ambas muestras utilizadas para su validación

Acceptance of breaded fish (Engraulis anchoita) in school meals in extreme southern Brazil

The objective of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of breaded fish (Engraulis anchoita) by public school students aged 5–18 (n=830) from two cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. First, by using multivariate analyses, the authors sought to assess the effect of the variables sex, city, and age on the acceptance of breaded fish. The second objective was to develop a predictive model that was applicable to different levels of acceptance. The results showed that the significant variable for the acceptance of breaded fish was age. According to the linear model and the descriptive statistics, an inverse relationship exists between the acceptance of breaded fish in school meals and the age of the children, possibly a consequence of the children being more critical in their food preference with the rising age, making the insertion of a new food that is not part of their eating behaviour more difficult

Selecting and training a panel to evaluate the rancid defect in soybean oil and fish hamburgers

Due to its composition of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, oils and fats are very susceptible to oxidation, with rancidity being one of the main defects. Among the several existing methodologies to monitor oxidation in foods, sensory analysis stands out because of the sensitivity of responses. Accordingly, this study aimed to select and train a panel of expert assessors to identify the rancid flavor, showing the statistical steps in the process. Assessors were selected according to their individual performance, statistically analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s mean comparison, Wald Sequential Analysis and chi-square test. The validation of the trained panel was carried out with the sensory analysis of fish burgers and soybean oil. F Value and box-plot graphic methods were effective for better visualization of results when used along with the mean and standard deviation tables. The final trained panel consisted of seven assessors, who have been able to identify and differentiate rancid taste in both samples used for validation