SEA 



SCIENCE 



TOP: Nielsen and Green check various aspects 

 of the fish condition, such as skin color, scales and gills. 

 BOTTOM: The QIM assessment uses many senses — including smell 

 — to evaluate the quality offish that has been stored on ice. 

 RIGHT: In addition to her quality research, Nielsen also learned 

 about North Carolina seafood by participating in a Nutrition 

 Leaders session at the NC Slate Seafood Laboratory. 



Standards are established for each species, 

 with individual parameters offering scores ranging 

 from zero to three. The lower the score, the higher 

 the quality. 



For salmon, a pearly skin color and shine 

 would have a score of zero, while a yellowish color 

 near the abdomen would rate a score of two. Similar 

 evaluations are listed for the skin mucus and odor, 

 as well as for various aspects of the eyes, gills and 

 abdomen. 



QIM inspectors evaluate a minimum of three 

 fish from a larger group to provide an average score 

 for the lot. That number is then compared against a 

 calibration scale to determine the relative freshness 

 and remaining storage days on ice. 



In Europe, software allows inspectors to use 

 hand-held computers to input the scores, then 

 receive quick and reliable assessments. The 

 software even includes photographs to guide the 

 inspector in matching the fish at hand to the proper 

 score. 



So far, QIM outlines, known as schemes, are in 

 place for 12 European species, including cod, 

 haddock, sole, shrimp and pollock. 



"The key benefit of QIM is that the method 

 provides the user — producers, buyers, sellers and 

 retailers — with a reliable and standardized 

 freshness measure of a product," Eurofish literature 

 explains. 



INITIAL N.C. EFFORTS 



When Green learned of QIM at international 

 meetings, he thought the process would comple- 

 ment an N.C. Fishery Resource Grant (FRG) project 

 designed to improve handling of hybrid striped bass. 



"This tool is exactly what we needed to help 

 quantify the quality differences in the current FRG 

 project with Pure Water Farms and Bioxy Inc. We 

 believe the technique will be useful for the industry 

 and for researchers," Green says. 



And once they become familiar with the QIM 

 process, the seafood lab will work with the 

 commercial fishing, seafood processing and 

 aquaculture industries to develop similar evaluation tools for other 

 North Carolina species. 



The Danish experts suggested Nielsen as a visiting scholar for 

 the project. 



"During her one-month stay with us, we performed sensory 

 evaluations on whole hybrid striped bass on ice," Green explains. 

 The fish were provided by Vanguard Fisheries and White Rock Fish 



28 AUTUMN 2002 



