Background: Sturgeon (Acipenser schrencki) were filleted, minced, vacuum-packed and stored at 4 °C. Minced sturgeon muscles were analysed for 10 days to determine biochemical [eight biogenic amines, ATP and breakdown products, K value, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and pH], microbiological (total viable counts, Enterobacteriaceae, Psychrotrophs, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Vibrio, Lactobacillus and Brochothrix thermosphacta) changes and their relationships.
Results: The shelf-life of sturgeon was found to be 3-4 days according to microbiological assessment. At the end of the storage, Psychrotrophs, Enterobacteriaceae and Aeromonas became the dominant bacteria, reaching 7.85, 7.98 and 8.02 log cfu g(-1), respectively. Biogenic amines, hypoxanthine and the K value increased significantly (P < 0.05) during the storage. Putrescine and cadaverine was the dominant biogenic amines while tryptamine was not detected during the storage. In addition, putrescine, cadaverine and hypoxanthine were highly related to storage time and total viable counts (r(2), 0.876-0.962), indicating that they can be good biomarkers for quality assessment of vacuum-packed minced sturgeon stored at 4 °C.
Conclusion: In this study, key biochemical and microbiological attributes were established to monitor the spoilage and shelf life of vacuum-packed sturgeon. These results could help to establish better cold storage management of minced sturgeon products under commercial conditions.
Keywords: K value; biogenic amines; microbiology; minced sturgeon; nucleotide degradation products; storage.
© 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.