FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

Texture quality, acceptability, and shelf life of restructured tuna steak (RTS) fabricated from yellow-fin tuna were evaluated. In a chewing test, steamed meat had the highest toughness, followed by RTS and raw meat. The degree of cohesiveness of RTS was higher than that of raw meat and steamed meat, indicating that the restructuring processing would effectively improve the meat texture. The sensory scores of RTS ranked in a acceptable level. Also, people preferred RTS without dark muscle to that with dark muscle. There were no significant changes in toughness, cohesiveness, VBN, and TBA value in either air-packed or N2-packed products after RTS were stored at -20℃ for 1-3 months.
Key words: Restructured tuna steak, Sensory evaluation, Shelf life.