Microbiological Safety and Quality of Processed Shrimps and Fishes - Aquaculture Microbiology and Biotechnology - page 85

QUALITY CONCERNS OF AQUACULTURE SHRIMP
Shrimp quality is essential to maintaining product value. Poor quality
does not only reduce value, but could build a poor reputation for a
particular farm, processor or an entire country (EC Rapid alert system). As
for product safety, certain controls must be used to maintain quality. The
following list of problems and controls is based on industry experiences,
buyer specifi cations and some related regulations for shrimps produced
and sold in the world market ( Table 4.5 ) .

Table 4.5 Quality concern and preventive measures of aquaculture shrimp
(Otwell et al., 2001)

Quality
Concerns

Defects Preventative Measures

Appearance Blackspot Proper application of sulfi te or Everfresh

Broken & damaged Proper handling and icing

Heat discoloration Timely placement of product in ice

Loose heads (whole product) Proper handling of product in ice only

Red heads Stop feeding 48 h before harvest

Soft Shell (Whole and Shell-on
product

Harvest at the proper time based
on periodic checks

Yellowing Proper use of sulfi tes

Pitted or gritty shells Proper use of sulfi tes

Milky shrimp Culling from the harvest

Mixed Species Separation by species at the plant

Odor/Flavor Decomposition Timely placement of product in ice

Chlorine Use proper concentration & exposure time

Petro-chemical smell Prevent contamination with oil, diesel, etc.

Choclo/Earthy Smell Sensory test before harvest

Off-fl avors in the head Sensory test before harvest

Texture Mushy and/or soft texture Proper shrimp to ice ratio and timely

placement of product in ice

Processing
Defects

Short weight Routine checks for proper specifi cations

Off-counts
Uniformity
Dehydration Proper glazing

Extraneous materials Proper culling

SAFETY CONCERNS OF AQUACULTURE SHRIMP
Shrimps remain one of the safest sources of seafood in the world. Food safety
problems are rare, but certain problems can result in signifi cant illnesses
and costly damage to the industry and product reputation. The following
list of potential food safety problems is based on actual market experiences
and scientifi c evidence that indicate these problems are “reasonably likely
to occur” for farmed shrimps ( Table 4.6 ) . All of these problems can be
eliminated or reduced with appropriate controls (Otwell et al., 2001).