Profiles of New Zealand Snapper (Pagrus auratus) Postmortem Metabolism as Affected by Acclimated Temperature and Postmortem Storage Temperature

• Published in: Journal of food science 2002-10, Vol.67 (8), p.2843-2850
• Main Authors: Jerrett, A.R, Law, R.A, Holland, A.J, Black, S.E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acclimation; acclimation temperature; adenosine triphosphate; anesthesia; Biological and medical sciences; cold injury; eye surface potential; eyes; Fish and seafood industries; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; harvesting; inosine monophosphate; lactic acid; meat carcasses; metabolism; Pagrus; Pagrus auratus; seawater; snapper; storage temperature; summer; white muscle; winter
• ISSN: 0022-1147; 1750-3841
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2002.tb08826.x

Chemical anesthesia (AQUI-STM) was used to harvest tank-reared snapper (Pagrus auratus) from late summer (19.6 °C) and winter (11.9 °C) acclimated populations in a “rested” state. Carcasses were stored in seawater at temperatures between 2 and 20 °C to investigate the effects of acclimation and storage temperature on the postmortem metabolic rate. Contour plots of postmortem muscle pH [lactic acid] and adenosine triphosphate/inosine monophosphate measurements revealed critical temperature transitions: 16 to 18 °C (coinciding with seasonal behavioral changes) and 4 to 6 °C (consistent with cold injury). DC eye surface potential (ESP) was evaluated as a noninvasive indicator of tissue-temperature interactions and showed similar patterns of critical temperature transitions.