Nofima is quadrupling the number of different fish species that users can check with the ‘How fresh is your fish?’ iPhone app.
Professionals can now use the app, which enables them to evaluate how fresh fish is, to check pollock, haddock, herring, turbot, sole, brill, redfish, deepwater shrimp, fjord shrimp and peeled shrimp.
The first version could test just salmon, cod and plaice.
The updated iPhone app was launched during the opening of the international trade fair for fish and seafood in Bremen, Germany, in February.
In just a few steps on the iPhone app, the user can evaluate the freshness of fish, through odour, texture and the appearance of the eyes, skin and gills.
The final result, which shows the remaining number of days the fish may be stored on ice, appears immediately.
“With this new version, we have made the iPhone app an even better tool for professional users who need to assess the remaining shelf life of fish. The 10 new species are all important on the European market,” says Project Manager and Seafood Professor Joop Luten at Nofima.
“The new version also makes it easy to transfer results and any comments and photos to, for instance, a company’s documentation and control system.”
The app is targeted at professional users such as fish producers, distributers, buyers and stores wanting to assess the remaining shelf life of fish. But it can also be used by consumers.
The fish must be raw, gutted and whole.
The app is based on the Quality Index Method (QIM), a standardised method for evaluating the freshness of fish, which was developed by scientists from several European research institutes and is now used worldwide.
The app is available in 11 languages and has been downloaded in more than 50 countries since it was launched in the App Store in May 2011.
It is free and is for use on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
