DEVELOPING THE QUALITY INDEX METHOD (QIM) TO ASSESS THE FRESHNESS OF WHITELEG SHRIMP (LIPOPENAEUS VANNAMEI) PRESERVED AT 0 OC

Abstract

This study aimed to develop the Quality Index Method (QIM) for evaluating the freshness of white-leg shrimp (lipopenaeus vannamei) preserved at 0 °C. The quality attributes included color, odor and texture of the head, body, and tail of the shrimp. The QIM program was built using a three step process: A preliminary scheme to evaluate all the changes of attributes related to quality – Training the QIM panel and finalizing the QIM scheme – Validation of the QIM scheme and estimate of the remaining shelf life. The results showed that the shelf life of white-leg shrimp preserved at 0 °C was 8 days. The quality of white-leg shrimp could be classified into four different levels according to the quality index, i.e. excellent, good, acceptable, and barely acceptable. The quality score was found to have increased linearlywith the number of preservation days. The QIM scheme also facilitated the estimation of the remainingshelf life of the preserved samples.