Abstract
The present study aimed at assessing the impact of addition of fumaric acid (0.5%), as an active agent, in a corn starch (2%) based edible coating, on the lipid quality and microbial shelf life of silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) fish steaks stored at 4 °C. Treating fish steaks with FA resulted in a bacteriostatic effect leading to reduced counts of total mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, H(2)S producing bacteria and Pseudomonas spp. The total mesophilic bacterial count of uncoated control sample exceeded the permissible limit of 7 log cfu g(-1) on 6th day and had the lowest microbial shelf life. FA incorporation in the CS coating improved the microbial stability of fish steaks resulting in a shelf life of 15 days. The outcomes of the study suggest that CS based coating is beneficial in delaying lipid oxidation as displayed by the lower TBA and PV values while FA is an effective agent for further increasing the preservative action of CS coating by significantly inhibiting microbial growth as well as lipid quality deterioration, which could be exploited by the seafood industry as an active packaging component.