Title: Development and application of quality index method scheme for fresh farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fillets and whole fish

The overall goal of this project is to learn how sensory evaluation may be applied in the artisanal fisheries industry in Dominica. This was done through the development and application of a sensory evaluation method to evaluate fish freshness, the Quality Index Method (QIM), in a full scale shelf life study. In this study a QIM scheme was developed for salmon (Salmo salar) fillets and evaluated in a shelf life study. Further, the application of a QIM scheme for whole salmon (Salmo salar) was evaluated. Salmon fillets were stored up to 15 days, but whole salmon for up to 21 days in a cooling chamber at -1.6°C and evaluated with sensory evaluation (QIM for salmon fillets and Generic descriptive analysis for cooked salmon (GDA)) by a trained sensory panel, and at the same time the total viable counts (TVC) and H2S producing bacteria counts were measured. Similar results were observed for the QI of the whole salmon and the QI score of the salmon fillets. The QI showed only slight increase with storage time even though the correlation was high. Sensory evaluation of cooked samples from fillets and whole fish showed no detection of spoilage characteristics hence, a point of rejection was not reached at the end of the experiment. Temperature during the storage of fillets and whole fish was very low and seemed to be a key factor in the long shelf life of the whole salmon and the salmon fillets. Microbial counts (TVC) were 5.6x106 and 1.1x106cfu/g in flesh of fillets and whole fish respectively, but H2S producing bacteria 2.4x106 and 7x104cfu/g respectively. A QIM scheme for salmon fillets has been developed but it is recommended that the scheme should be evaluated at slightly higher temperatures.