EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF FISH MARKETED IN THE REGION OF BOTUCATU, SÃO PAULO

Abstract

The Regulamento de Inspeção Industrial e Sanitária de Produtos de Origem Animal (RIISPOA) establishes quality standards for fish intended for human consumption, ensuring a product served to the consumer with safety and innocuity. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the quality of fish commercialized in the districts of Ipaussu and Botucatu, São Paulo, more precisely the Tilapia do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) and the Merluza (Merluccius hubbsi), through necropsy findings and physical-chemical analysis. Eight Tilapia and three hake samples were acquired from a fish farm, euthanized on ice at the farm, and sent to the Laboratory of analysis of the Biotechnology Institute (IBTEC) of the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), in Botucatu-SP. The Tilapias were submitted to macroscopic inspection by means of external and internal observation and the Merluza fillets were submitted to physical-chemical analysis to evaluate the freshness. In the external examination the most frequent lesion was hemorrhage of skin (50%), fins (50%), gills (25%) and oral cavity (12.5%), while in the internal examination splenomegaly (75%) and kidney hemorrhage (50%) prevailed. The physical-chemical analysis showed significant alterations in the total volatile bases (TVB), making the food unfit for consumption according to current legislation. The observed alterations configure loss of quality of the fish, deterioration and lesions suggestive of zoonotic disease.  The fish commercialized in the districts of Ipaussu and Botucatu did not meet the freshness standards required for consumption established by the Brazilian legislation.