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Rigormortis PDF
Rigormortis PDF
ABSTRACT: Shear force and rigor mortis were used to evaluate the post-mortem changes of muscle texture in
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The fish were either stunned with carbon dioxide (CO2), electricity, or percussion
prior to slaughter. The pre-mortem stress during CO2 stunning resulted in an earlier onset and resolution of rigor
mortis, and accelerated post-mortem softening of the muscle tissue as compared to the other stunning methods. No
significant differences, either in development of rigor mortis or shear force, were seen between fish that were
stunned with electricity or by percussion. Consequently electricity can be used for stunning fish prior to slaughter.
Keywords: Atlantic salmon, stunning, slaughter, rigor mortis, texture
Introduction ferent stunning methods and post-mor- ning methods (CO2, electricity, and per-
Food Engineering and Physical Properties
1462 JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE—Vol. 67, Nr. 4, 2002 © 2002 Institute of Food Technologists
Table 1—The internal temperature of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) after chill- The potential difference (V ) was mea-
ing in 1 °C seawater for 40 min. Temperature at sea was 13 °C. The fish was sured in root mean square. For percussion,
either live chilled or chilled in the gutted condition. Ice slurry was used during
CO2 stunning. 1 fish at a time was removed from its pen
and immediately hit in the head with a
Mean Mean steel hammer.
Stunning Number length Temperature ± SE
In June, 25 salmon at a sea temperature
method (N) (cm) (°C) of 13 °C and mean fork length equal to 81
cm ± 1 cm SE were stunned using either
CO 2 5 78.2 3.1 ± 0.1
Percussion 5 82.2 3.4 ± 0.3 CO2, electricity, or percussion. The percus-
Electric 6 s 5 79.6 3.7 ± 0.4 sive stun was performed on 2 groups of
Electric 12 s 5 79.5 3.4 ± 0.3 fish, with or without live chilling in 1 °C sea-
Live chilled 5 83.6 2.9 ± 0.3 water for 40 min prior stunning. The electri-
cal stunning was carried out using sinusoi-
trodes 100 cm apart. The electrodes con- rod, covering the whole surface at each dal 1000 Hz AC with field strength equal to
sisted of horizontally aligned steel rods end. The fish was exposed to a homoge- 75 V × m-1, and the fish were electrically
with a distance of 2.5 cm between each nous electric field (E) equal to 175 V × m-1. stunned for either 6 s or 12 s duration. Rigor
indexes were then measured from 0 to 48
hours post-mortem.
After stunning, gill arches were cut, all
salmon were bled in chilled seawater for
40 min, gutted, and then placed in boxes
with crushed ice. The fish was then trans-
ported to a refrigerator and stored at 0 °C
for the entire experiment.
Statistical analysis
ANCOVA and multistage categorical re-
Figure 1b—Measured Warner-Bratzler shear force values (mean ± SE) on muscle
from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) stunned either with CO2, electricity, or by gression (Sokal and Rohlf 1994) were used
percussion. The shear force was measured at 12, 32, 54, 80, 102, and 175 to test differences in muscle shear force,
hours post-mortem, and the total amount of work (J) used to slice the muscle depending on stunning methods. The fish
was recorded. size was expected to influence the muscle
shear strength (Veland and Torrissen 0.05, Sheffels test of unequal n). For fish fish killed by percussion or electrically
1999), and was therefore included as an in- stunned with electricity or killed by per- stunned for 6 s did not achieve maximum
dependent variable in multiple regression, cussion, there were no difference in the rigor index until 24 hours post-mortem
as a covariate in ANCOVA. To compare dif- timing of onset and resolution of rigor (Figure 3). Fish stunned electrically for a
ferences of the slope on shear force caused mortis (Figure 2). 12 s duration tended to have an earlier
by different stunning methods, the inde- Statistical analysis of the results in onset of rigor mortis than fish stunned for
pendent variables “stunning methods” Figure 3, showed that CO 2 stunned fish a 6 s current duration, but no significant
were incorporated in multiple regression as had a significantly higher rigor index at 6 difference was found in rigor index be-
multistage categorical independent vari- hours post-mortem than the other stun- tween these 2 groups (P > 0.05, Sheffels
ables (Sokal and Rohlf 1994). This test al- ning methods (P < 0.05, Sheffels test of test of unequal n).
lows comparison of more than 2 slopes with unequal n). At 12 hours post-mortem, As seen in Table 1, after chilling in sea-
a joint intercept. The stunning methods both the CO 2 and live chilled fish did water and prior to placement in boxes of
were categorized as 0 and 1, separating 1 achieve maximum rigor index, while the ice, there was no significant difference (P >
stunning method from the other 2.
For analysis of rigor index, we used
ANOVA and post-hoc analysis (Sheffels
test of unequal n).
Texture analysis
The results of muscle shear force
(Figure1a and 1b) indicated that the post-
mortem softening of the texture was de-
pendent on stunning method and the
storage time (P < 0.05, ANCOVA). Fish
Food Engineering and Physical Properties
Rigor index
Shown in Figure 2 and 3, fish stunned
with CO2 had an earlier onset and resolu-
tion of rigor mortis than the other stun-
ning methods. Maximum rigor index was
achieved within 12 hours among the CO2
stunned fish, while the electrically
stunned fish and fish killed by percus-
sion did not achieve maximum rigor index
until 36 hours (Figure 2) and 24 hours
post-mortem (Figure 3), respectively. Sta-
tistical analysis of the results in Figure 2,
show that CO 2 stunned fish had a signifi-
cantly higher rigor index at 6 to 12 hours
Figure 3—Results from rigor mortis measurements on Atlantic salmon (Salmo
post-mortem and significantly lower rigor
salar) after stunning with CO2, 6 s of electricity, 12 s of electricity, or by per-
index from 28 to 48 hours post-mortem cussion with or without live chilling. The rigor index (%) was measured at 0, 6,
than the 2 other stunning methods (P < 12, 24, and 48 hours post-mortem (mean values ± SE).
0.05, t-test) in the internal temperature tem. This gives reason to speculate if the tion. This indicates that the early onset of
between fish that were live chilled or softening of the texture in CO2 stunned rigor mortis observed among live chilled
chilled in gutted condition. The live fish was directly caused by self injuring fish (Figure 3), was likely to be caused by
chilled fish had a mean internal tempera- muscle contractions during flight reac- the release of the secondary stress re-
ture of 2.9 °C, while the highest mean tem- tions, or if it was caused by acceleration of sponses.
perature was found among the electrical rigor mortis and the post-mortem tender-
stunned fish equal to 3.7 °C (Table 1). ization process. Conclusion
Hematomes caused by electrical stun-
ning was observed in 4 fish when 50 Hz AC
was used, providing an injury rate of 11%.
It is shown on poultry that electric
stunning does improve the quality mea-
sured as delay of rigor mortis, higher mus-
P RE-MORTEM HANDLING AND STUN-
ning method influences the process of
rigor mortis and post-mortem softening of
No injuries were seen in fish stunned with cle pH values and more firm texture (Pap- the texture. In terms of quality, the use of
1000 Hz, AC. inaho and others 1995; Raj and others electricity and percussion are the most
Assuming that injuries caused by elec- 1995). However, these results were diffi- suitable methods of stunning fish prior to
trical stunning can be avoided, the use of cult to compare with fish, since the mor- slaughter when compared to stunning
electricity is an interesting alternative to phological structures in poultry and fish with CO2.
CO 2. For electrically stunned fish, the re- muscle are quite different (Dunajski
sults on rigor mortis measurements with 1979). References
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Skjervold PO, Fjæra SO, Østby PB. 1999. Rigor in At- effect of stress and exercise on post-mortem bio- of Marine Research, P.O. Box 1870, Nordnes, N-
lantic salmon as affected by crowding stress prior chemistry of Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout. J 5005 Bergen, Norway. Direct inquiries to author
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Skjervold PO, Fjæra SO, Østby PB, Einen O. 2001. salmon (Salmo salar) muscle as measured instru- Bergen, Norway. (E-mail: Bjorn.Roth@ifm.uib.no).
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Food Engineering and Physical Properties