Good handling practices of the catch: The effect of early icing on the freshness quality of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis L.)

Three postharvest icing treatments were implemented on cuttlefish specimens (overall number ¼ 243) after they were hauled onboard: T1-ICO, storage under a 15-mm-thick layer of contact crushed freshwater ice; T2-ICA, storage over a 15-mm-thick layer of contact crushed freshwater ice; T3-NOI, storage without any contact ice, but placed over a 15-mm-thick layer of contact crushed freshwater ice once ashore. All storage trials (n ¼ 6) were conducted at 2 2 C and were terminated on the sixth day of storage because the aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of realistic icing practices on the freshness quality and shelf -life of cuttlefish, as assessed by sensory (a non-destructive Quality IndexMethod, QIM), physical (dielectric properties through the Fish Freshness Meter, “295 e Torrymeter”) and chemical (the breakdown products of adenosine 50etriphosphate, or ATP, as well as relevant ratios among them) methods. The early use of contact ice, either above (T1-ICO) or underneath (T2-ICA) single-layered cuttlefish placed in self-draining polystyrene boxes, was able to slow down ATP degradation. Nevertheless, because three visual traits were significantly worsened in the former treatment, the T2-ICA treatment was suggested as the most proper icing procedure for this cephalopod. The Torrymeter readings had no utility either for predicting the cuttlefish actual/remaining shelf-life for each icing treatment, or for discriminating among them. The percentage ratio between hypoxanthine (Hx) and adenosine 50 emonophosphate (AMP) proved to be the chemical index most highly correlated with ice days. A useful, non-destructive, QIM scheme for cuttlefish was successfully tried and tested in the process.