Texture Profile Analysis: How Parameter Settings Affect the Instrumental Texture Characteristics of Fish Fillets Stored Under Refrigeration?

Texture profile analysis (TPA) is widely used to evaluate instrumental texture of fish fillets. However, different TPA setting conditions are the main limiting factor for its use as an official method of quality monitoring. Therefore, this study aimed to describe how texturometer settings affect the primary instrumental texture properties of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fillets stored at 4.0 °C for 8 days. Different settings were employed, including compression rate (CR) between 43.2 and 76.8%, holding time (HT) between 0.1 and 10 s, and test speed (TS) between 0.3 and 3.7 mm/s, applying the central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The CR affected all properties throughout storage. CR and TS similarly influenced cohesiveness and resilience, forming stability zones at CR values above 67% and TS values below 2 mm/s. HT changed springiness linearly, quadratically and by interactions, and the stability was achieved at HT values below 5 s. These findings suggest that in the range of 60–75% (CR), 2–5 s (HT), and 0.5–2.0 mm/s (TS), it is possible to obtain more representative results for the instrumental texture properties.