SCALLOPS (Nodipecten nodosus) TREATED BY HIGH HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE: PHYSICAL, MICROBIOLOGICAL AND SENSORY ASPECTS

Scallop, Hydrostatic high pressure, Sensory, Texture, Microbiology

Scallops (Nodipecten nodosus) are aquatic filtering marine organisms, consumed raw or after cooking, of high thermal sensitivity and short shelf life when refrigerated. The use of Hydrostatic High Pressure (HHP) technology can promote the shelf life of foods, including animal products, by inactivating spoilage microbial populations and endogenous enzymes. Therefore, adductor muscles of scallops submitted to the HHP process will be analyzed, ranging from 200 to 400 MPa, at 2.5 and 5 minutes, in order to investigate and characterize the effect of pressure on their musculature. Assessment will be made on the textural and color behavior of scallops, sensory evaluation of raw scallops and after cooking by stirring, microbiological characterization and pH during 35 days during cold storage at 4 ± 2 ° C. Bioaccessibility, atomic force microscopy and electrophoresis will be performed to investigate possible alterations in the protein structure of the adductor muscle.