Trimethylamine As A Freshness Indicator For Seafood Stored In Ice: Analysis By Gc-Fid Of Four Species Caught In The Tyrrhenian Sea

In seafood products, trimethylamine (TMA) is an indicator of the conservation status. It is almost absent in freshly caught samples, and its content increases during spoilage. In the present work, a new simple GC-FID method that uses a commercial capillary column, specifically designed, was applied. TMA was measured at increasing time intervals in four marine species caught in the Tyrrhenian Sea and stored in ice; 852 individuals were analyzed. An assessment of the maximum allowable time of storage in ice was made for each species. Existing guidelines for the level of trimethylamine are reviewed and discussed.