Shelf-life of vacuum and modified atmosphere packaged sliced pangasius catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) under refrigerated storage condition

Abstract

The effects of vacuum (VP) and 100% N2 modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on the qualityand shelf-life of sliced pangasius catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) during refrigerated storage (4°C)were investigated up to 12 days. The values of pH, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) and thiobarbituricacid reactive substance (TBARS) of sliced fish samples during storage under VP and MAP packaging werewithin the limit acceptable for chilled fish. Total viable count (TVC) of pangasius fish, on the other hand,gradually increased from the initial value of 4.32±0.04 to 8.30±0.13 log CFU/g on day 9 for non-sealedpack (control) and 7.64±0.12 and 8.34±0.07 log CFU/g for VP and MAP on day 12. There were nosignificant (p<0.05) differences in TVC values among the three packaging conditions during the storageperiod except on day 9 where significantly (p<0.05) lower TVC values were observed in the VP samplecompared to that of other samples. Based on the bacterial counts of 7 log CFU/g, which is considered as theupper acceptable limit for fresh and frozen fish, the shelf-life was determined as the excess of 6 days forcontrol pack and MAP samples, and excess of 9 days for VP sample. Therefore, VP is a good option toincrease the shelf-life of wet fish, which can be adopted by the superstores to display their products withextended shelf-life.