What's New

Frozen Fish and Frozen Seafood Displays in Grocery Store Cabinets

Palatable frozen fish smell fresh. Frozen fish fillets or steaks should be white or pink depending upon the species, while whole fish should have brightly colored or metallic scales and red or pink gills.

Yellow and green wavelengths are the most damaging wavelengths in the visible spectrum, and their predominance in regular fluorescent lighting can distort the natural colors of finfish and seafood and make ice beds look green or yellow. Promolux lamps emit a more balanced range of wavelengths, which results in true color displays.

Decomposition of Frozen Retail Fish and Seafood Displays

Frozen fish is often packaged in a folded sleeve of plastic that is sealed shut with an ice glaze. In a damaged or loosefitting package that allows air in, display case lighting can trigger lipid oxidation of fish fats and lead to rancidity, which occurs even in sub-freezing temperatures and is notable as a brown or yellow discoloration and a strong fishy odor.

Radiation from display case lighting can accelerate the dehydration of fish, which may be seen as frost from drip as the cells lose the ability to retain water, or in extreme cases, freezerburn, which gives unpleasant flavors and white or yellow patches.

Frozen seafood should be stored at 0° F to -10° F (-17° C to -23° C); at these temperatures it will maintain its quality twice as long as at 10° F to 15° F (-12° C to -9° C). Fish kept frozen at -22° F can last from 9 months to 2 years.

Frozen puddles and runny color on the skin indicate that the fish has thawed and was refrozen. Seafood that was frozen slowly or stored at warm or fluctuating temperatures will be tough with excessive drip and a soggy, chewy, bland flavor, or may have a soft texture from structural damage caused by large ice crystals.

For seafood science references and excerpts click here.

[Top]

Promolux Low Radiation Display Lamps

Compared to other fluorescent lighting, Promolux Safe Spectrum lamps emit 86% lower UV B radiation, a shorter wavelength that penetrates and causes heating, and 52% lower UV A radiation, a longer wavelength that tends to affect surfaces. Because Promolux lamps are designed for true color definition, they have a more balanced visible spectrum than other fluorescent lamps.

Yellow and green wavelengths are the most damaging wavelengths in the visible spectrum, and their predominance in regular fluorescent lighting can distort the natural colors of finfish and seafood and make ice beds look green or yellow. Promolux lamps emit a more balanced range of wavelengths, including more of the red and blue wavelengths and more moderate levels of the yellow and green wavelengths. It is impossible to create a natural light that does not have any yellow or green wavelengths, so light sources will always be damaging to some extent.

However, since Promolux Safe Spectrum lamps minimize the emission of damaging visible spectrum and UV wavelengths, using Promolux lamps will prolong the shelf life of fish and seafood and maximize their fresh appearance, enticing customers to buy while the seafood is fresh.