Organoleptic analysis
Odd job: the FDA employs people to smell fish in order to determine if it's decomposed. They refer to this as "organoleptic analysis".
The article I'm getting the info from was published in 1978, but I'm assuming the FDA must still employ people to smell fish. Unless they've got a fancy gadget to do it now.
There are four categories with fish. "The first is fresh. That's the way fish are right after they are caught. Then there is number one. That's the commercial grade. Most seafood should be number one. It may not smell fresh, but it's not decomposed.
"The next is number two. That means slight decomposition. Whether the fish is all right depends on the product. The criteria are based on percentages. And last is number three, the really bad ones. Definitely decomposed. Number three is so putrid and stinky you wouldn't want to eat it."
"The next is number two. That means slight decomposition. Whether the fish is all right depends on the product. The criteria are based on percentages. And last is number three, the really bad ones. Definitely decomposed. Number three is so putrid and stinky you wouldn't want to eat it."
The article I'm getting the info from was published in 1978, but I'm assuming the FDA must still employ people to smell fish. Unless they've got a fancy gadget to do it now.
Detroit Free Press - Jul 18, 1978
Comments
Here's an article that mentions Al Weber: https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/07/archives/about-new-york-the-nose-that-really-knows.html
I was actually looking for an article I read years ago about another FDA fish sniffer who, as an Orthodox Jew, doesn't eat the shellfish that he's employed to sniff. Come to think of it, people whose job is to sniff fish all day are probably not big fish eaters.
I was actually looking for an article I read years ago about another FDA fish sniffer who, as an Orthodox Jew, doesn't eat the shellfish that he's employed to sniff. Come to think of it, people whose job is to sniff fish all day are probably not big fish eaters.
Posted by ges on 11/24/20 at 09:18 AM
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