Spinal cord destruction and effects on freshness retention and subsequent consumer evaluation of white trevally

Abstract

　The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of slaughtering method of fish, including spinal cord destruction, aiming for the long-term retention of freshness after slaughter, and to examine consumer evaluations. White trevally Pseudocaranx dentex was used for this study. To verify the freshness retention effect of spinal cord destruction, freshness was measured for approximately 10 days using a handy device (Fish Analyzer^TM Pro) for white trevally slaughtered by different methods. To examine consumer evaluations, tasting experiments were conducted at Tsukiji, Tokyo, where various small-scale fish retailers and restaurants are located. Japanese and non-Japanese volunteers were invited on a first-come first-served basis, to taste white trevally sashimi prepared by different slaughtering methods. The results showed that spinal cord destruction was more effective than simple spinal cord cutting for retaining freshness in terms of measurements by the device. However, the difference in consumer evaluations between the two slaughtering methods was not significant. Therefore, the value of spinal cord destruction is considered to be mainly for extending the life of the product.