ARS | Publication request: INSTRUMENTAL VERSUS SENSORY DETECTION OF OFF-FLAVORS IN FARM RAISED CATFISH

Submitted to: Aquaculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: February 12, 2004
Publication Date: June 1, 2004
Citation: Grimm, C.C., Lloyd, S.W., Zimba, P.V. 2004. Instrumental versus sensory detection of off-flavors in farm raised catfish. Aquaculture. 236:309-319

Interpretive Summary: This research compares an instrumental method for determining the muddy off-flavor in catfish against professional flavor checkers. The instrumental method yields comparable data in an objective manner. This research will benefit the catfish industry immediately in standardizing the levels used to differentiate an on-flavor fish and an off-flavor fish. Additionally, beneficiaries are scientists working to mitigate the off-flavor problem in the catfish and other susceptible industries.

Technical Abstract: An instrumental method for determining the presence of the blue-green off-flavor in catfish was compared with four professional flavor checkers. Odor threshold for a theoretical average flavor checker was determined to lie between 0.1 and 0.2 ppb. The lower end of the range (0.1 ppb) was selected as the instrumental cut-off for determining off- flavor fish. Comparison of instrumental to flavor checkers resulted in a high correlation R=0.9). Additionally, it was demonstrated that no difference was observed in MIB concentrations whether sampling from fresh or frozen fish.