Thawed fish is put to the test at Campus Terra

You have probably been told many times that you should not wait too long to eat foods after defrosting them — but how many hours is "too long"? Some products are more likely to spoil easily, and one of them is fish.

This is the subject matter of Mar López García’s doctoral thesis, called “Frozen fish: development and application of the Quality Index Method (QIM) to different species, and study of purchase and consumption habits.” This research project —directed by professors Ángeles Romero, Lourdes Vázquez and Luis Ramil— has just been presented at the Faculty of Sciences, on the USC Campus Terra.

In her study, this agricultural engineer develops a sensory analysis system based on the QIM method that allows to calculate the shelf life of thawed fish. More specifically, this method focuses on the most commercially interesting species that are fished by Galician freezer vessels.

Likewise, the researcher provides new tools that allow to assess the deterioration of organoleptic characteristics, depending on how long the product remains stored at cooling temperatures. In this sense, the figures vary depending on the species and how it is presented.

On the other hand, her work also addresses a complementary line of research: the study of the purchase and consumption of fresh, frozen and thawed fishery products among the population, and the link between these behaviours and different socioeconomic and demographic factors. In it, she points out that half of the people who buy and consume these types of products are not aware of their actual shelf life.

Unlike fish, which loses its properties once thawed, Mar López’s doctoral thesis remained nice and fresh after being presented to the panel, as it received the maximum grade. Without a doubt, this excellent grade also goes to the sea in which the great research projects of Campus Terra sail.