Matjes herring is the recent product added to Nofima’s iPhone app “How fresh is your fish?”
The upgrade of the “How fresh is your fish?” app is now available at the app store and may now be used for 13 species and one product – matjes herring. This upgrade is primarily designed for fish distributors and buyers with emphasis on the Dutch market where matjes herring is a major product. The App is also useful for consumers who wish to check the freshness of the fish they buy and take home.
Matjes herring is a herring product that is extremely popular in the Netherlands. The majority of the herring consumed in the Netherlands is caught and produced in Norway and Denmark.
Matjes herring, or in Dutch maatjesharing, is sold as ready-to-eat product. Dutch consumers prefer the herring when it is caught in the spring, as the fat content is optimal, and in order to receive the designation of respect “Hollandse Nieuwe” the herring must have a fat content of at least 16 %.
During gibbing the gills and intestines but the pancreas is left in. The pancreas releases enzymes that ensure that herring matures in the right manner and that the meat develops the characteristic taste and soft consistency. Dutch people often eat the fish in the traditional way by holding the tail and eating the whole herring in one go, often together with finely cut onion and pickles.
The App from Nofima is extremely user-friendly. In a few steps, it is possible to evaluate if there are any discrepancies with the fish product, if it retains the correct freshnessquality and how long it has been on ice. The app is based on the Quality Index Method (QIM). “This is a standardised method for evaluating the freshness of fish, which was developed by scientists from several European research institutes and is now used worldwide,” says QIM Eurofish Project Manager Joop Luten.
This update will be available in Norwegian, English, German and Dutch. Since its launch in May 2011, the App 'How fresh is your fish?' has been downloaded in more than 50 countries. It is free of charge and available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. An android version is planned for 2013. The application is financed by Nofima and the Matjesherrring upgrade was developed in collaboration with Imares Wageningen UR in the Netherlands
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