FLYING FISH (HIRUNDICHTHYS AFFINIS) BURGER: INFLUENCE OF ROSEMARY (ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS) ON SENSORY AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Resumo

The flying fish (Hirundichthys affinis) species has economic and social importance because it is a food for populations with low purchasing power. This is a fishery resource exploited worldwide and can be used as raw material to produce fish-based products due to its low cost and great availability in the northeastern region of Brazil. This study aimed to develop flying fish burgers formulations with different amounts of rosemary and assess its influence on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics throughout storage under freezing. To assess the influence of the rosemary during storage, moisture, pH, acidity, and color analysis were performed at 0, 30, 60 and 90 days of freezing and the sensory attributes were assessed using Quantitative Descriptive Analysis. The acidity of the sample without rosemary raised significantly at the end of the storage period. The pH raised only for the samples with rosemary at day 30 and 60. The L* values increased for all samples at the end of the storage period, however a* values where higher in samples with rosemary in days 0, 30 and 60. Sensory analysis showed that formulations with rosemary obtained better maintenance of the sensory characteristics. The development of flying fish products associated with the use of natural substances, becomes a suitable alternative to the availability of products with added value and being an income opportunity for fishing communities.