ICAR AIEEA-PG / PGS — Code 18 Food Science Technology · India · ICAR through the National Testing Agency
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersHandling and processing fish and shellfish: post-mortem spoilage and freshness, chilling and freezing at sea and ashore, canning, curing, smoking and drying, surimi and value-added products, and seafood safety hazards.
In the exams: GATE XE-G Section 3 (drying, canning and freezing of fish); ICAR AIEEA-PG Code 18 Unit III (fish and sea foods)
ICAR AIEEA-PG / PGS — Code 18 Food Science Technology
Unit III names fish and sea foods. Expect MCQs on composition, rigor and spoilage, freshness indices (TVB-N, TMA, K value, QIM), icing and freezing, salting methods and defects (pink, dun), drying and smoking, fish sauce, surimi terms (suwari, modori, cryoprotectants), shrimp melanosis, fish meal manufacture, biotoxins and histamine, and export inspection.
How our questions for ICAR AIEEA-PG / PGS spread across the units of Fish & Seafood Processing Technology. Difficulty: 21 easy, 54 medium, 22 hard.
| Chilling and freezing of fish | 9 | |
| Composition of fish and shellfish | 8 | |
| Post-mortem changes and spoilage of fish | 8 | |
| Freshness assessment: sensory, TVB-N, TMA and K value | 8 | |
| Fish canning | 8 | |
| Salting, drying and smoking of fish | 8 | |
| Fish fermentation: sauces and pastes | 8 | |
| Surimi and fish mince products | 8 | |
| Shellfish and crustacean processing | 8 | |
| Fish meal, fish oil and by-products | 8 | |
| Seafood hazards: histamine, biotoxins and parasites | 8 | |
| Quality standards for seafood trade | 8 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Fish flesh flakes easily on cooking, unlike beef, mainly because fish muscle has
C. Little, heat-labile connective tissue
Fish myotomes are separated by thin myocommata of collagen that is low in amount and heat-labile, so it gelatinises easily and the flesh separates into flakes. White fish muscle has little myoglobin, myofibrillar proteins are present, and glycogen is low.
Further reading: Huss, Quality and Quality Changes in Fresh Fish (FAO FTP 348)
In ATP breakdown in fish muscle after death, the compound responsible for the sweet, meaty taste of very fresh fish is
D. Inosine monophosphate
ATP is degraded via ADP and AMP to IMP, which gives the fresh, meaty flavour; IMP then breaks down to inosine and bitter hypoxanthine. ATP itself is gone early, and TMA is a bacterial spoilage product.
Further reading: Huss, Quality and Quality Changes in Fresh Fish (FAO FTP 348)
In chilled marine fish stored aerobically, the specific spoilage organism that reduces TMAO to TMA and produces hydrogen sulphide is
B. Shewanella putrefaciens
Shewanella putrefaciens is a cold-tolerant Gram-negative bacterium that reduces TMAO and produces H2S and other sulphur compounds in iced marine fish. Lactobacillus, Bacillus and Aspergillus are not the main spoilers of iced fish.
Further reading: Huss, Quality and Quality Changes in Fresh Fish (FAO FTP 348)
The Quality Index Method for fish freshness works by
C. Summing demerit points
QIM gives demerit points to eyes, gills, skin, flesh and odour, and the total rises with days in ice for a given species. TVB-N is a chemical test, bacterial counts are microbiological, and scoring cooked odour describes the Torry scale.
Further reading: Huss, Quality and Quality Changes in Fresh Fish (FAO FTP 348)
Superchilling of fish means holding it at
B. Just below freezing point
Superchilling holds the flesh slightly below its initial freezing point so that a small part of the water freezes, extending shelf life beyond icing. 0 °C is normal icing, −18 °C is frozen storage, and 4–5 °C is ordinary refrigeration.
Further reading: Hall (ed.), Fish Processing Technology
Histamine found in canned tuna was most likely formed
D. In poorly chilled raw fish
Histamine is formed by bacterial decarboxylation of histidine while raw fish is above chill temperature; it is heat-stable, so retorting does not destroy it. Heat does not form histamine, commercially sterile cans have no growing bacteria, and air does not create it.
Further reading: Hall (ed.), Fish Processing Technology
Clostridium botulinum type E is a particular concern in vacuum-packed lightly salted smoked fish because it
A. Grows in the cold
Non-proteolytic type E strains, common in aquatic environments, can grow and produce toxin at chill temperatures in reduced-oxygen packs if salt is low; water-phase salt, temperature and shelf life are the controls. They are less heat-resistant than proteolytic strains, are anaerobic, and do not form histamine.
Further reading: Hall (ed.), Fish Processing Technology
Shrimp paste and bagoong are examples of
B. Salted, fermented seafood pastes
They are made by salting and fermenting small shrimp or fish and grinding them into a paste used as seasoning. Surimi gels, smoked shellfish and protein concentrates are different products.
Further reading: Shahidi and Botta (eds.), Seafoods: Chemistry, Processing Technology and Quality
Pasteurised crab meat in sealed containers must be kept refrigerated because
D. It is not shelf-stable
Pasteurisation reduces pathogens and extends chilled life but does not destroy all spores, so the product is not commercially sterile. Crab is not acid, freezing is not unsafe, and the containers are hermetic.
Further reading: Sikorski (ed.), Seafood: Resources, Nutritional Composition, and Preservation
In India, the body that certifies the quality and safety of export seafood and approves export processing plants is the
A. Export Inspection Council
The Export Inspection Council and its agencies certify export seafood and approve plants. MPEDA promotes marine exports, BIS sets standards, and APEDA handles other agricultural exports.
Further reading: Codex Alimentarius, Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (CXC 52-2003)
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