## 3 Results and Discussion  
Figure 1 demonstrates sensory values corresponding to salted anchovies from both fresh (control group) and frozen and thawed raw materials (experimental group) stored at refrigerated temperatures. Salt concentration had a significant effect on the shelf-lives of the products (\(p<0.05\)), as also supported by previous studies [25; 39]. The best shelf-life was obtained with the dry-salted product for over a year in the experimental group. Products primed at 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% salt concentrations had shelf-lives for the control group of 2 weeks, 2 months, 4 months, 5 months, and 9 months, respectively. Lower shelf-lives (one month for each subgroup depending on salt concentration) occurred for the experimental group for the primed samples except at 10%, which had the same storage life. An opposite situation occurred for the dry-salted products, as freezing or frozen storage of raw materials prior to salting extended the shelf-life of products in refrigerated storage for a month. Therefore, this study demonstrates that salting methods affect the curing of fish depending on the conditions of the raw material used. In the case of using frozen and defrosted raw materials before salting anchovies, it is advised to use dry-salting instead of brining. Differences in the effect of freezing fish prior to dry-salting and brining were reported by different studies on fish quality and maturation rates [22; 23; 40]. Similar results were obtained by our earlier study with dry-salted Atlantic bonito (_lakeda_) using fish that had previously been frozen and thawed for a month [23]. The previous study showed that the sensory scores of _lakeda_ processed from previously frozen A. bonito were higher than those of freshly processed fish. Faster salt uptake was also obtained. Moreover, [PERSON] et al. [22] investigated the effect of freezing on the changes in free amino acids and biogenic amines during the ripening of fresh and frozen sardines. They found that freezing had a positive effect on the final quality of ripened sardines as it decreased the bacterial activity responsible for biogenic amine formation. [PERSON] et al. [40] reported that frozen and thawed anchovies were successfully ripened, giving a final product with fully acceptable organoleptic characteristics despite the fact that freezing prior to processing slowed ripening. Figure 1: The changes in the sensory values of dry-salted and primed anchovies prepared from fresh and previously frozen and thawed raw materials during refrigerated storage (\(4\pm 1\)\({}^{\circ}\)C). DS: dry-salted anchovies, (**a**): appearance scores of the control group, (**b**): appearance scores of the experimental group (prepared from frozen material), (**c**): odour scores of the control group, (**d**): odour scores of the experimental group (prepared from frozen material), I: texture scores of the control group, (**f**): texture scores of the experimental group (prepared from frozen material), (**g**): overall sensory scores results of the control group, (**h**): overall sensory scores results of the experimental group (prepared from frozen material). The effect of freezing the raw material on the quality changes of salted fish products can vary according to fish species, the type of products, and the time and temperature used for freezing and frozen storage. In fact, [PERSON] [18,19] demonstrated that although previously frozen herrings had higher salt uptake when marinating compared to fresh herrings, they had lower sensory values. [PERSON] et al. [17] investigated the changes in microstructure and texture during the smoking of fresh and frozen/thaved Atlantic salmon. They found that the muscle fibers from the frozen and thawed fish shrank, and the extracellular space increased compared to the fresh muscle.