Optimization of the Quality and Safety of Cooked Seafood Products

• Main Author: Brookmire, Lauren
• Other Authors: Biological Systems Engineering, Mallikarjunan, Parameswaran Kumar, Grisso, Robert D., Jahncke, Michael L.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: Virginia Tech 2010
• Subjects: shrimp; salmon; Modeling; optimization; microbial inactivation; cooking; quality; seafood; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/35180; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-09242010-170638/

Seafood products are a common consumer choice and a variety of cooking methods are used in seafood preparation. Although often cooked, products such as shrimp and salmon remain some of the most common carriers of foodborne disease. Cooking these products at elevated temperatures efficiently reduces foodborne disease causing pathogens to a safe level, but applying too much heat to seafood products can produce an overcooked, low quality food. It is necessary to investigate the cooking processes used in seafood preparation and establish appropriate consumer cooking parameters that optimize both the quality and microbial safety of the products. To achieve these goals, this study develops mathematical models for the inactivation of Salmonella sp., change in quality attributes, and the product heating profiles during the cooking process for shrimp and Atlantic salmon. Studies were performed to monitor the product heating profile during the baking and boiling of shrimp and the baking and pan-frying of salmon. Product color, texture, moisture content, mass loss, and pressed juice were evaluated during the cooking processes as the products reached the internal temperature recommended by the FDA. Studies were also performed on the inactivation of Salmonella cocktails in homogenized and non-homogenized shrimp and salmon. To effectively predict inactivation during cooking, the Bigelow, Fermi distribution, and Weibull distribution models were applied to the homogenized data. Minimum cooking temperatures necessary to destroy Salmonella sp. in shrimp and salmon were also determined. The heating profiles of the two products were modeled using the finite difference method. Temperature data directly from the modeled heating profiles was then used in the kinetic modeling of quality change and Salmonella inactivation during cooking. It was concluded that consumers need to judge the doneness of both shrimp and Atlantic salmon by the lightness factor (CIE L*) of the core region of both products. The core region's lightness factor, ...