Effect of slurry ice on quality characteristics and microbiota composition of Pacific white shrimp during refrigerated storage

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using seawater slurry ice (SI) as storage medium on Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) under 2 °C refrigerated storage. Meanwhile, traditional storage methods, such as crushed ice (CI) and cold storage (CS), were employed for comparison. The results showed that the SI storage inhibited microbial growth, retarded total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and melanosis formation, and maintained appearance due to the anoxic, cold, and hyperhaline environment provided by seawater slurry ice. The microbiota analysis revealed that spoilage bacteria (Pseudoalteromonas) was inhibited, while Psychromonas replaced Pseudoalteromonas and Psychrobacter as the major spoilage bacteria at the 6th day of slurry ice storage. In addition, the slurry ice reduced the rate of K-value and maintained the umami taste of shrimp. This study demonstrated the advantages of slurry ice in shrimp preservation, and provided new insight of developing new strategy for aquatic product storage.