The preservation effect and mechanism of gelatin on golden pompano (Trachinotus blochii) fillets during cold storage

Abstract The effect of different concentrations of gelatin (0%, 2.5%, and 5%) and vacuum packaged on the preservation of golden pompano (Trachinotus blochii) fillets stored at 4 °C was studied over 14 days. The results suggested that both the gelatin groups (2.5% and 5%) showed a reduction in deterioration of colour, drip loss and texture compared to the control group (0%). In addition, the gelatin coating caused a slower reduction in the freshness indexes of the fish, such as total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total viable counts and pH. During a certain storage period, the gelatin notably prevented the deterioration of the golden pompano fillet at 4 °C. The 5% gelatin group showed the best effect on preserving the freshness indexes. Thus, the application of gelatin as a preservative is highly prospective for the preservation of fish fillets.