Preliminary study on the shelf-life of shelled refrigerated mussels.

摘要

The shelf life and bacterial load of refrigerated, shelled and packed Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels processed at different intervals were studied. Mussels were divided into Groups A, B and C. Ten samples from Group A were analysed immediately, while the remaining samples were shelled and packed into sterile plastic bags with 150 g of body and intervalvular liquid. These samples were analysed after 2, 4, 6, 8 and 14 days storage at 2 degrees C. Groups B and C were first stored at 6 degrees C and then processed as in Group A. Samples in Group B were analysed after 3, 5, 11 and 13 days and Group C after 2, 8 and 10 days storage at 2 degrees C. It was shown that faecal coliform and Escherichia coli counts decreased in all groups during storage, while total viable count increased (except in Group A), especially in Group C after 8 days of storage. pH reached low values for samples stored at 14, 13 and 10 days in Groups A, B and C, respectively. Sensorial characteristics were acceptable in all groups, except for Group C samples stored at 8 and 10 days. These results show the safety and good shelf life of shelled, refrigerated mussels, which is directly related to their freshness and viability before processing..