Combining ozone and slurry ice treatment to prolong the shelf-life and quality of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea)

The effect of different ice treatments (flake ice (FI), slurry ice (SI) and ozonated slurry ice (OSI)) on the microorganism, physicochemical properties and shelf life of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) was evaluated during refrigerated storage. Microbiological and physicochemical analysis, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were measured at 3-days interval. The results showed that, compared with FI, SI could greatly inhibit the growth of microorganisms and slow down the increase of TBARS, TVB-N, K value and BAs, which had the ability to isolate oxygen and cover the fish completely with subzero temperature. While OSI could inhibit the increase of microbial number, K value and BAs dramatically, which were closely related to strong bacteriostatic ability of ozone. The results of LF-NMR and MRI revealed that the combined use of slurry ice and ozone could more efficiently retard the water migration, maintain the quality of fish. This experiment revealed that combined use of slurry ice and ozone represented a promising technique to maintain high safety and quality and extend the shelf-life of large yellow croaker.