THE EFFECT OF GAMMA IRRADIATION ON PHYSICAL AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF PENAEUS MONODON SHRIMPS

摘要

Two lots of frozen precooked shrimps from Thaieland "PENAEUS MONODON" Black tiger variety were irradiated at 1.8 to 3.6 kGy. This way, it was hoped to compare the effects of gamma irradiation on the chemical and physical qualities of frozen precooked shrimps after transportation from Thailand to Canada. The results indicated that the color measurement expressed in term of lightness (L~*) showed a relative stability during storage of processed shrimps. However, based on the value (Θ) a more intense red color was observed for the control and the reference. The cooked irradiated and nonirradiated shrimps presented a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.01) of 22% in firmness during the first week of storage. Thus, irradiation did not impair the firmness of shrimps after teatment or during storage. Also, based on the statistical analysis, the irradiation treatment did not affect the content of amino acids of precooked shrimps.