Impact of the O2 concentrations on bacterial communities and quality of modified atmosphere packaged Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei).

The importance of spoilage-related bacteria in fresh Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) under different modified atmospheres (MAs) at 4 °C and the effect of O2 were demonstrated in the current study. The changes of bacterial communities in MA-packed shrimp during cold storage were studied by a combined method of plate counts with isolation and identification. Three gas mixtures were applied: 80% CO2 /5% O2 /15% N2, 80% CO2 /10% O2 /10% N2 and 80% CO2 /20% O2, and unsealed packages of shrimp were used as the control. In addition, the TVB-N, pH, whiteness index, and sensory scores were also determined to evaluate the quality changes of shrimp. MA packaging effectively inhibited the increase of total psychrotrophic bacteria counts and H2 S-producing bacteria counts by about 1.7 and 2.1 log cycles, respectively. The growth of Gram-negative spoilage bacteria in shrimp, including Shewanella spp., Aeromonas spp., and Pseudomonas spp., was inhibited by MA packaging, but the growth rate of Gram-positive bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Brochothrix spp. were less affected by MA as effectively as Gram-negative bacteria. In comparison with the MA-packaged samples, the counts of H2 S producers in shrimp under a CO2 -enriched atmosphere with 20% O2 were slightly lower than the count in samples under an atmosphere with 5% O2 . However, MA with 20% O2 led to higher concentrations of TVB-N, and lower whiteness values and sensory scores. The shelf life of shrimp under 80% CO2 /10% O2 /10% N2 has been prolonged by > 6 d in comparison with the control according to the sensory scores.