Quality Hake Fillets with a sweet flavor and a soft texture, they hold together extremely well while cooking making it suitable for casseroles and soup/chowder. It is also delicious grilled or as an ingredient in fish sandwiches and tacos.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of deep-frozen pre-packaged hake fillets sampled from the Portuguese retail marked. Various physical, biochemical and microbiological analyses were performed on 19 commercial products of frozen hake fillets. The identification of the species was confirmed in all samples, except for two that were mislabeled. The TVB-N content was high in about one-third of the brands, but within legal limits. The ice glaze contained too much added phosphate in most of the samples, while the level of dissolved protein and the M/P ratio were low in all.

Exploring Haddock Fish Options: From Fresh to Frozen

In the case of sensory evaluation, 63% of the products were classified as having bad to poor quality and 37% as fair. Discoloration, dehydration and rancid odor were the most frequent defects. Yeasts and molds were present in six samples, indicating poor hygienic conditions during hake processing in some facilities. Nevertheless, labeling respects European regulations and ‘best before’ dates are clearly indicated on the labels.

The analysis of the different quality parameters showed a strong association among them. PCA allowed the identification of groups of hake fillets with similar quality characteristics, thus allowing a better use of resources in the design of control protocols for the hake production chain.