Applications of Vibrational Spectroscopy to the Analysis of Fish and Other Aquatic Food Products

Nowadays, people have come to realize the importance of fish and seafood in their diet. Various studies and researches have proved that the best sources of good fats, vitamins, and minerals to promote good health can actually be found in different seafoods. However, the quality of fish and fishery products has always been difficult to define, and is typically based on the general perception of the consumer evaluating the product. With increasing globalization of fishery product sales, processors, consumers, and regulatory officials have been seeking rapid and reliable methods for determining the authenticity, freshness as well as quality of these products. During the last decade spectroscopic techniques have become established as one of the more important and powerful tools of modern industrial analysis; This includes the use of these techniques in the food sector, especially for on-line, in-line or at-line analysis. In the seafood industry, vibrational spectroscopy is the most widely used technique for quantitative and qualitative analysis of fish and related products. Here, we have summarized the latest practical vibrational spectroscopic techniques for assessing, measuring, and predicting the quality of fish and other seafood. Keywords: seafood; surimi; near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); freshness; authenticity; end-point temperature (EPT); discrimination