Effect of Plasma-Activated Water (PAW) on the Shelf Lives of Whiteleg Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and Splendid Squid (Loligo formosana)

In this paper, the application of inactivation by plasma-activated water (PAW) for exporting whiteleg shrimp and splendid squid is studied. Through experimentation, the maximum hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration in PAW was determined by utilizing a full factorial design with two-level factors. Subsequently, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted using Minitab. The results indicated that a gas flow rate of a mixture of Ar (98%) and O-2 (2%) at 25 L/min and a discharge time of 120 min generated the optimal concentration of H2O2 in PAW (13.30 mg/L), as per the response optimizer. The use of PAW to inhibit the growth of microorganisms in whiteleg shrimp and splendid squid demonstrated that the inactivation procedure involving soaking in PAW for 10 min resulted in a reduction in the number of total microorganisms to less than 6 log CFU/g. Additionally, an examination of the nutrition of aquaculture food revealed that PAW-immersed whiteleg shrimp and splendid squid showed different protein and lipid changes. The results suggested that PAW could be a viable option for decontaminating aquatic food products. However, it is important to consider that oxidation could pose a challenge in certain products.