Inhibition of melanosis of Patagonian shrimp using chitosan coatings

FIEDOROWICZ KOWAL, MARTINA V.; ORTIZ, NICOLÁS; DIMA, JIMENA B.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; WCCE11 - 11th World Congress of Chemical Engineering; 2023

Asociación Argentina de Ingenieros Químicos

Patagonian shrimp is one of the most important marine resources in Argentina. However, the shelf life of shrimp is limited due to melanosis (black spots), that appear immediately after capture limiting their market value. To retard melanosis, antimelanosic agents, such as sodium metabisulfite (SM) are used. However, the use of SM is being limited due to their potential toxicity. Chitosan (CH) is a biopolymer obtained from shrimp shells and has several features such as film formation and antibrowning effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of chitosan coating on the melanosis and quality parameters Patagonian shrimp during 7 days of ice storage.SM and ascorbic acid (AA) were used as additives to evaluate different edible chitosan coatings. Patagonian shrimps were dipped into: MS, CH, CH-0.125%MS, CH-0.25%MS, AA, and CH-AA solutions. All samples were conditioned in ice and stored at 4°C. The shrimp were photographed to evaluate the appearance of melanosis, quality parameters were measured, and acceptability analysis was carried out by industry specialists for 7 days.The photographs showed that treatments with CH, MS, and both CH-MS retarded the appearance of melanosis. The TBA values of all treatment were lower than the control samples after day 5. The acceptability analysis showed that coated shrimp were considered acceptable until day 5. This study showed that treatment with CH and CH-0.125%MS had similar results than MS and CH-0.25%MS, indicating a synergistic effect which could allow the reduction of MS concentration currently used in the industry.