Effects of microbial growth on the preservation of scallop muscle in a vital state

Abstract

Adductor muscles dissected from live scallop Patinopecten yessoensis were stored in oxygenated artificial sea water. The initial muscle adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level, approximately 7.5 μmol/g, remained longer at 5°C than at either 0 or 10°C. The pH of sea water, decreased continuously and the consumption of dissolved oxygen increased even after muscle ATP was almost exhausted. The number of viable microbes, measured as colony-forming units (c.f.u.) in the muscle, increased to reach a plateau at approximately 107–108 c.f.u./g, while muscle ATP remained at high levels. After this time, muscle ATP sharply decreased. Antibiotics or sorbate added into the oxygenated sea water effectively inhibited both the growth of microbes and the decrease in the pH of sea water. Under these conditions, the retention period of muscle ATP was greatly extended. Thus, it seems most likely that scallop adductor muscle cells are suffocated by the limitation of oxygen supply caused by aerobic microbes grown on the surface of muscle tissue.