gluts and price drops," Thomas says. 

 "Processors who freeze as an 

 afterthought don't offer the same 

 quality advantages as processors who 

 are set up to freeze. 



"Some products are not frozen 

 with the consumer in mind," he says. 

 "They are frozen in bulk, not IQF. 

 Quality does suffer, and that's how 

 consumers get a bad taste for frozen 

 seafood. It's not flavorful, or it's 

 rancid. Until the industry consis- 

 tently produces a good quality 

 product with the consumer in mind 

 from the beginning, consumers are 

 going to have reservations. " 



Companies whose reputations 

 and sales depend on the quality of 

 their frozen seafood choose good fish 

 and shellfish to freeze and freeze it 

 the best way 

 possible, Thomas 



Companies 

 whose reputations 

 and sales depend on 

 the quality of their 



frozen seafood 



choose good fish 



and shellfish to freeze 



and freeze it 



the best way possible. 



says. 



To help 

 companies like 

 Thomas' to 

 improve even 

 more, Lanier is 

 testing some new 

 freezing technol- 

 ogy. Recently in 

 a New Zealand 

 laboratory, 

 Lanier learned 

 that minced fish 

 injected with 

 certain sugars or 

 starches fared 

 better in the 

 freezer. 



The sugars 

 and starches 

 protect the 

 proteins in the 

 fish during 

 freezing and 

 yield the kind of 

 quality product 

 researchers see 

 only when fish is 

 stored at tem- 



50 

 40 

 30 

 20 

 10 

 

 -10 

 -20 

 -30 



Effects of Holding Temperature on Fish Core Temperatures 

 During Defrost Cycle in Mechanical Holding Freezers 



































• Sample 1 

 ■ Sample 2 

 ▲ Air Temp. 







X 







































— i 

























































\ 

















x 



































































75 150 225 300 375 450 525 600 675 750 825 

 TIME 



This chart illustrates the effects of fluctuating temperatures during the defrost cycle in 

 mechanical refrigeration systems. The core temperatures of frozen fish follow the rise 

 and fall of holding temperatures in the freezer. The fluctuation is detrimental to the long- 

 term storage of the seafood because ice crystals will slowly grow in the fish. To remedy 

 the problem, hold the frozen fish at lower temperatures, -20 F to -30 F if possible, to 

 compensate for the defrost cycle. 



peratures of -50 F, a setting too 

 costly for most processors to use. 



Lanier is eager to experiment 

 more with the sugars and starches in 

 his NCSU laboratory. He would 

 like to develop an injection system 

 that would allow the infusion of the 

 starches or sugars into fillets, the 

 product form used most often by the 

 processing industry. 



Lanier would like to help 

 processors produce better quality 

 frozen seafood so these products 

 would be more readily accepted by 

 the public. 



"The ideal way to sell seafood 

 would be to freeze it and sell it 

 frozen to consumers," Lanier says. 

 And Thomas thinks that with more 

 consumer education and the right 

 marketing 

 strategy, 

 consumers 

 could be sold 

 on frozen fish. 



"If a 

 processor 

 would develop 

 a frozen line of 

 seafood 

 products that 

 included 

 directions on 

 how to thaw 

 the product, 

 when to use it 

 and how to use 

 it, then con- 

 sumers could 

 consistently get 

 better quality 

 seafood year- 

 round," 

 Thomas says. 

 "The only 

 seafood that 

 would be better 

 would be that 

 bought 

 dockside." □ 



3 



m 



SO 



| 



a 



SO 



COASTWATCH 19 



