The effect of high voltage electric shock on the quality attribute of carp fish (Cyprinus carpio) meat

Abstract

Abstract Carp is one of the commercial freshwater fish and requires good preservation to maintain the quality of the meat. The non-thermal food preservation method that is still being developed is by using a high voltage electric shock or often called Pulse Electric Field (PEF). The research on the treatment of electric shock using PEF on carp meat has been done. This study aimed to measure the effect of high voltage electric shock on the quality of the carp fish meat. Fresh carp meat fillets were given exposure to electric shock (30 kV, 60 kV, and 90 kV; frequency 50 Hz; pulse width 0.4 s; 600 pulses) when compared with untreated as a control. The data of log total plate count (TPC) and other quality attributes were analyzed by ANOVA and advanced test with Honesly Significance Different (HSD), while non-parametric data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney test. The result showed that in untreated meat fish, the log of TPC is higher than threated meat and significantly different (P < 0.05) at untreated with the treated samples. The electric shock treatment caused temperature increment from 3.3+0.7°C until 5.6+1.3°C but not significantly different between samples. Moisture content decreased significantly due to high voltage electric shock treatment. pH values ranged from 6.46+0.20 to 6.62+0.23 and were not significantly different between treatment. Meat with electric shock treated showed significantly different (P<0.05) on weight loss but not in cooking loss. There are no significant differences in hedonic value except tenderness with 60kV. On the microstructure, the treated meat looks more porous than untreated meat. It is indicating that high voltage electric shock processing was effective in the maintenance of carp meat qualities.