Influence of high-voltage electric field thawing on frozen tilapia fillets quality

Abstract

In the food sector, high voltage electric field (HVEF) has recently been regarded as a novel thawing technique. The variance in the quality was compared between frozen tilapia fish fillets thawed by high voltage electrostatic field (HVE) and those thawed conventionally as control. Frozen tilapia fish fillets were thawed under HVEF and were exposed to three different corona voltages from 4.5 to 14 kV at electrode gaps of 3, 4.5, and 6 cm; the control was thawed at 20°C without HVEF treatment. Thawing rate, evaporation, thawing, and drip losses, as well as total volatile binding nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, protein solubility, and color variations, have been employed as the quality indicators. The results revealed that thawing under HVEF greatly enhances the thawing rates of frozen tilapia fish fillets. The greatest rate of thawing was 2.16 times that of the control specimen. However, thawing HVEF reduced the protein solubility and color of fish specimens. In comparison to the control, increasing the applied voltage reduced the protein solubility of the fish specimens High electrostatic field intensities caused frozen tilapia fish fillets to oxidize quicker than lower ones.