Effect of modified atmosphere packaging with different gas mixtures on the texture and muscle proteins of Pacific white shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei ) during cold storage.

In this study, the effect of modified atmosphere packaging with different gas mixtures on texture and muscle properties of Pacific white shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei ) during refrigerated storage was studied via texture profile, water holding capacity (WHC), protein properties (Ca 2+ -ATPase, TCA-soluble peptides, myofibrillar/sarcoplasmic protein content), and microbial counts. The results showed that the antibacterial effect of Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) was correlated with the increase of CO 2 with the presence of low level of O 2 . Though MAP without O 2 had a higher whiteness value but also had higher bacterial counts and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) values compared with other MAP-groups. In general, a gas composition of 80% CO 2  + 5%O 2  + 15% N 2 treatment had lowest microbial counts and reduced TVB-N values by 22.85% in comparison with the control on day 10. However, MAP was found to have a complicated impact on muscle protein and texture of shrimp. 60% CO 2  + 5% O 2  + 35% N 2 and 40% CO 2  + 5% O 2  + 55% N 2 had an advantage in maintaining springiness and the content of myofibrillar/sarcoplasmic proteins. The correlation analysis showed that WHC had stronger relationship with springiness, resilience, myofibrillar protein content. Therefore, regarding the texture and protein properties, the concentration of CO 2 in MAP for Pacific white shrimp should not be higher than 60%.