Refrigerated shelf-life evaluation of high pressure processed, raw and sous vide cooked lobster

ABSTRACT

High pressure processing (HPP) and sous vide may increase the shelf-life of high value seafood products without the use of additives. This study investigated the effects of 150MPa or 350MPa for 10min on microbial, sensory, and physicochemical qualities of raw and subsequently sous vide cooked (65°C) lobster tails during 28 days of refrigerated storage. Raw lobster pressurized at 350MPa or sous vide cooked maintained significantly lower microbial counts, total volatile base nitrogen, and biogenic amine levels. Due to off-odors, 90% and 60% of sensory respondents rejected the control and 150MPa raw samples, respectively, by day 7, while 70% rated the 350MPa samples as still acceptable on day 28. For cooked lobster, only 20% of the respondents rejected any samples by day 28. Moderate HPP conditions were effective in extending refrigerated shelf-life of vacuum-packaged raw lobster tails. However, HPP pretreatment did not contribute to additional shelf-life extension for sous vide cooked products.

KEYWORDS:

• HPP
• sous vide
• lobster
• shelf-life

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Hadhramout Establishment for Human Development (HEHD) for financial support, Dr. Bill Halteman for statistics consultation, and Maine Fair Trade Lobster for supplying lobster tails. This project was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, AFRI program grant number 2016-67018-24606, and by Hatch project number ME0-21920 through the Maine Agricultural & Forest Experiment Station. Maine Agricultural & Forest Experiment Station Publication Number 3754.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interests to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute of Food and Agriculture: [Grant Number AFRI program grant number 2016-67018-24606].