Bleeding Influencing Color, Physical-Chemical Quality, and Texture Profile of Pirarucu (Arapaima Gigas) from Amazon, Brazil

Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) fishing and meat contribute socio-economically to the Amazon population, with recovering stocks resulting from the pirarucu management in the Middle Juruá region. The ventral portion of arapaima (belly) is widely consumed due to the high lipid content, which can predispose lipid and protein oxidative reactions. Differences among fishing practices, including the bleeding, may influence the quality and acceptance of the meat. In this context, we evaluated the effect of bleeding on the physical-chemical quality, color, and texture of bellies of arapaima obtained from sustainable community-based management. The bellies were obtained from ten (n=10) pirarucu carcasses. Five (n = 5) animals were slaughtered with bleeding by the gills (BLE) and five (n = 5) animals without bleeding (NON-BLE). Pirarucu bellies were sliced and assigned randomly for 0, 3, 6, and 9 days at 4oC to analyze pH, water holding capacity, instrumental color, and texture profile. NON-BLE exhibited greater (P < 0.05) redness and yellowness than BLE samples, whereas BLE exhibited greater (P < 0.05) color stability than their correlative BLE samples. BLE bellies exhibited greater (P < 0.05) hardness and chewiness than in NON-BLE counterparts. During storage, both BLE and NON-BLE exhibited an increase (P < 0.05) in pH. BLE bellies demonstrated a decrease (P < 0.05) in yellowness and color stability, whereas an increase (P < 0.05) in hardness and chewiness were observed in the same samples. These findings indicated that bleeding could improve the pirarucu meat quality.