ABSTRACT
One of the most important factors in seafood quality is freshness. It determines, to a large extent, the market price of fish, especially of those eaten raw or processed to delicatessen products. Second-quality fish of highly valued species that is still edible and suitable for smoking, marinading, or canning may bring only about 10% of the price paid for the same product of prime freshness. Live fish are regarded highest in freshness and are best to be consumed raw just after killing. Commercially valuable seafood that is supplied to the market in a pre rigor state may receive the same price as live fish. Contrary to beef meat that normally undergoes natural, enzymatic tenderization in refrigerated storage to increase its eating quality, fish is generally tender enough that tenderization is not required. On the other hand, the enzymatic, postmortem reactions lead as a rule to rapid loss of prime freshness.
