Influence of freezing and oxygen‐free packaging methods on lipid oxidation and other flesh quality parameters of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Abstract

Given its capacity to offer real-time and tested storage success, the use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) appears increasingly attractive and of commercial global interest for (sea)foods products. Moreover, it adapts oxygen-free systems that when combined with other preservation methods show high promise to robustly tackle the overall deterioration of fishery products. In this work, freezing and oxygen-free (vacuumas well as modified atmospheres of 50% N 2 -50%CO 2 -and 100% N 2 ) packaging methods has been applied to Norway lobster (NL) (Nephrops norvegicus) and resultant data compared with conventional preservative treatment of sulphite together with control (untreated). Specifically, the objective was to evaluate differences in lipid oxidation (thiobarbituric acid {TBA}) and related flesh qualities (total volatile base (TVB) nitrogen, pH, free amino acids (FAAs), proximal composition, as well as melanosis scores) during storage period of up to 12 months. The result showed that across treatments, whilst the TBA values were little coincidental with superficial fluctuations in proximal composition and some pH differences, the TVB-N values seemed unaffected except some increases in 100 % N 2 -treated NL samples at the second half of frozen storage. Although individual FAAs statistically differed per treatment (P<0.05), trends of total FAAs seemed regular with some resemblances between treatments (P>0.05). Additionally, the treatments of 50% N 2 -50%CO 2 -and 100% N 2 -to apparently delay the melanosis formation in NL samples appears very promising replacement for the sulphite ones. Keywords:Crustacea/ Oxygen-free packaging/Freezing/ Lipid autoxidation/ Quality attributes. Practical applicationsNorway lobster (NL) is among crustacea species receiving increasing global interest given its economic value. But lipid damage together with other freshness restraints continually affects its postharvest shelf. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) adapts oxygen-free system which when combined with other preservation methods offers real-time and tested food storage success. Amid the advances in MAP to-date, relevant information about freezing combined with oxygen-free packaging atmospheres applied to Norway lobster species has not been found. This current research was purposed to demonstrate the effect of freezing and oxygen-free packaging atmospheres on lipid oxidation and related flesh qualities of NL samples. Graphical abstractThe lipid oxidation of oxygen-free (vacuum-as well as modified atmospheres of 50% N 2 -50%CO 2 -and 100% N 2 ) packaged Norway lobster samples measured by thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and presented in mg MDA/kg in comparison to conventional preservative treatment of sulphite together with control (untreated). The image symbols include: (■) Vacuum; (▲) N 2 -CO 2 ; (Δ) N 2 ; () Sulfited; (□) Control. Image shows that lipid oxidation of NL samples, although it appears somewhat affected during the first six months of frozen storage compared to the much-reduced effects the remaining months, st...

Effect of different packaging methods on the free amino acid profiles of the deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) during frozen storage

“…Aspartic acid, histidine, and tyrosine had the least concentrations. The high levels of glycine and arginine detected corroborated that reported for the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus 1758) in the same region (11), and prawns (25). The ratio of essential amino acids (EAAs) to non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) was 0.9 (data not shown), which was higher than that reported by Iwasaki and Harada (26) for many other seafood products (0.7).…”

“…Furthermore, protein degradation is impacted by the rate of freezing, effect of ice crystals, and packaging method. The general reduction in FAAs observed in the last 3 months, reflected that also recorded for Norway lobster by Bono et al ( 11 ). This phenomenon might be attributed to decarboxylation by decarboxylase enzymes, and the consequent formation of breakdown products such as biogenic amines ( 34 , 35 ) that can cause relevant modifications in the sensory properties, nutritional and safety quality of seafood products with negative effects on consumers health.…”

“…The good performance of FAAs in samples packed under vacuum to resemble those of sulfite-treated samples required further considerations. This result was novel, and was not obtained in the two previous analogous studies on Giant red shrimp ( 7 ) and Norway lobster ( 11 ) caught in the same geographical region. If the high performance of vacuum samples was due to the almost total absence of oxygen in the headspace (which is directly involved in the oxidative denaturation/deamination of proteins and FAAs), we should have obtained similar results for samples preserved in N 2 (100%), as they were also packaged in anoxic atmosphere.…”

“…In addition, the preservative success of freezing is affected by the size and muscle structure of fishery products ( 7 , 9 ). Bono et al ( 7 , 10 , 11 ) showed that the ability of MAPs to prevent fishery products from deteriorating increases when they are combined with other preservation methods, such as freezing. For instance, Bono et al ( 10 ) showed that lipid oxidation and volatile amines were significantly reduced in DWRS when MAP was combined with frozen storage.…”

Effects of different ozonized slurry‐ice treatments and superchilling storage (−1°C) on microbial spoilage of two important pelagic fish species

“…Among the key aims of innovative food processing methods is the increasing pursuit for food safety. Some notable seafood processing methods include modified atmosphere packaging, ozone treatment, high pressure processing, irradiation as well as active and intelligent packaging (Bono & Badalucco, ; Bono et al., ; Bono, Okpala, Badalucco, Milisenda, & Vitale, ; Chen, Chang, & Ing, ; O'Donnell, Tiwari, Cullen, & Rice, ; Okpala (,b); Okpala (,b); Okpala, Bono, Abdulkadir, & Madumelu, ; Okpala, Bono, & Gancitano, ; Okpala, Bono, Falsome et al. ; Okpala, Bono, Geraci, et al., ; Okpala, Bono, Cannizzaro, & Jereb, ; Okpala & Bono, ; Sivertsvik, ; Zhang et al., ).…”