Nutritional, physical, microbiological, and sensory properties of marinated Irish sprat

Atlantic Sprat (Sprattus sprattus) is a highly nutritious pelagic fish of great commercial value in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia which in Ireland is largely under-utilised for human consumption. The aims of this study were to develop a marinated product from Irish sprat, to evaluate its physico-chemical characteristics; and to compare sensory qualities of the Irish sprat product (ISP) with established European analogues. Physico-chemical analysis of the marinated product included proximate analysis, pH, sodium chloride, colour, and texture, while microbiological tests were conducted for total viable bacterial count (TVBC), total psychrophilic aerobic bacteria (TPBC), total yeast and mould, and total coliform counts (TCC). Sensory attributes of the Irish sprat product were assessed by panel tasting using hedonic and just-about-right (JAR) scales and compared to Nordic (NSP) and Mediterranean marinated (MAN) products. This study demonstrates that the curing methods used significantly increased ash content and reduced water content of fresh sprat (P < 0.05) thus contributing to product preservation. Specifically, preservation was achieved by reducing the marinated product's pH value and water activity and increasing the salt content thereby inhibiting all microbial growth across all curing stages. Hedonic and JAR data showed positive acceptance from consumers for most ISP sensory characteristics. However, JAR scores were lowered by panellist's perception of excessive acidity and fishiness indicating that broad consumer acceptance of an ISP product will depend on the freshness of the raw material available to processors.