Dear Adam,
I agree with everything that richard chivers has said in his reply. Once a
cartilagenous fish has been sent down the distribution chain, any smell of
ammonia is indicative of spoilage. I would not worry about burning your
mouth, as my experience is, if the spoilage is advanced and you have not
actually detected it prior to cooking, the ammonia smell will come out
during the cooking. This will deter anyone from eating the fish. If the fish
has only a slight hint of ammonia prior to cooking, this will intensify on
cooking and make the fish taste very bitter and will deter any attempts of
consumption. It would not cause any burning should the person consuming the
product actually manage to keep it in their mouth. Most people on getting
the bitter taste tend to immediately spit it out as they find it quite
nauseous.
Some shellfish will also smell of ammonia when spoiling i.e. nephrops,
gastropods etc.
I hope this along with Richard's explanation helps you to understand what is
happening.
Any further queries on this topic, please get in touch.
Regards
Chris Leftwich
Chief inspector, Billingsgate Market.
.
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Simpson <AdamS@ahsl.co.nz>
To: 'seafood@ucdavis.edu' <seafood@ucdavis.edu>
Date: 17 May 2000 03:50
>Hi List
>
>I have received several complaints relating to a very strong ammonia smell
>associated with fillets from various different types of fish. I believe
>this is an indication of spoilage and have also been made aware it relates
>to the gutting of the fish. Is there any literature or comments out there
>to provide me with further explaination/clarification? Could this smell
>ever reach the stage of causing a physical reaction such a burns to the
>mouth?
>
>Much appreciated
>
>Adam Simpson
>Health Protection Officer
>Public Health, Auckland Healthcare Services
>
>
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