Efficacy of electrolyzed water against bacteria on fresh fish for increasing the shelf-life during transportation and distribution

The efficacy of electrolyzed water (EW) against surface bacteria for increased freshness of fish during distribution was investigated and its efficiency was compared with chlorinated water (CW) and some natural herbal extracts. Fresh oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps), Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicas) and horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) were dipped into variable concentrations of EW, CW, EW-mix (EW + bamboo extract + garlic extract at 60:1:1), sterile distilled water, tap water, garlic extract and bamboo extract for 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 min, respectively. Aerobic plate count (APC) was done, biochemical properties were studied and freshness of fish was measured using quality assessment tool. Iso-chlorine EW, CW and EW-mix were found to be effective in reducing APC at 25 °C. Fish treated with EW and CW showed better keeping quality in terms of bacterial load and physical properties of fish compared to other solutions. So, EW can be effectively used to reduce bacterial spoilage and extend shelf life of fish during distribution and marketing.