Storage properties of refrigerated whiting mince after mincing by three different methods

Minced fish is commonly used for production of surimi-based or traditional, ready-to-eat, precooked products such as fish balls or burger patties. In this study, three types of fish mince from whiting (Merlangius merlangus euxinus, N. 1840) were investigated for quality changes during refrigerated storage. The first type of mince was plain mince. It is commonly used in Turkey for producing fish balls, and requires no washing steps. The second one was surimi. It is not commonly used in this country, although it is popular in other countries for making ready-made products. The third type of mince was the type produced from the boiled fish, which is used in household preparation of fish balls. All mince types were stored under refrigerated conditions (at 4 ± 1 °C) to analyze their shelf-life. Sensory and chemical analyses were used to test their quality changes during storage. The precooked samples showed the best quality and the longest shelf-life according to physical, sensory and chemical results. Plain mince showed the poorest quality in relation to sensory attributes. Surimi products had the best quality in terms of retaining their shape, but their whiteness was not as good as that of the pre-cooked ones.