TEXTURE CHANGES IN FROZEN COD MINCE MEASURED BY LOW-FIELD NUCLEAR-MAGNETIC-RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY

Studies were carried out on changes in water proton relaxation, Instro n parameters, dimethylamine (DMA) content and sensory texture scores d uring storage of cod mince at -10 degrees C, -20 degrees C and -70 deg rees C. The longest transverse proton relaxation time measured by puls ed low-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy increa sed with temperature and duration of frozen storage. These variations in the NMR parameter paralleled changes observed with analytical metho ds commonly used for evaluating fish texture, ie Instron measurements, as well as dimethylamine and sensory analyses. It is concluded that t he NMR method can be an alternative tool to study textural modificatio ns of cod during frozen storage.