Hyperbaric Storage of Atlantic Razor Clams: Effect of the Storage Conditions

Abstract

As shellfish preservation is still nowadays a challenge for the food industry, in this paper, the effectiveness of hyperbaric storage in preserving Atlantic razor clams (Ensis directus) was evaluated both at low (HS-LT) and at room temperature (HS-RT). To do so, the study was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, razor clams were stored at different pressure levels, both at 5 °C and 20 °C, for 7 days to identify the most efficient storage pressure at both temperatures. Microbial analysis after storage showed that, at 5 °C, a minimum pressure of 50 MPa was needed to prevent microbial growth in the samples, while 75 MPa were required at 20 °C. In the second phase of the study, subsequent storage experiments at these conditions for 14 days revealed that both HS-LT (50 MPa/5 °C) and HS-RT (75 MPa/20 °C) extended the microbial shelf-life of the razor clams to, at least, twice that achieved in conventional refrigeration, but quality decline was larger in the samples stored at 75 MPa and 20 °C. Therefore, HS-LT resulted more effective than HS-RT for the preservation of razor clams.

Effect of Hyperbaric Storage at Room Temperature on the Activity of Polyphenoloxidase in Model Systems and Fresh Apple Juice

“…Differently, HS at 100 MPa inhibited the growth of all the considered microbial indexes, which resulted below the detection limit (1 log CFU mL −1 ) throughout storage for up to 6 days. By increasing storage pressure up to 200 MPa, complete and irreversible inactivation of TBC, LAB, and YM was obtained within 24 h. These results agree with the remarkable bacteriostatic and bactericidal effect of HS reported in the literature for various foods, including apple, watermelon, and strawberry juices (Fidalgo et al, 2014(Fidalgo et al, , 2019Lemos et al, 2017;Otero & Pérez-Mateos, 2021;Pinto et al, 2019;Segovia-Bravo et al, 2012). Given the antimicrobial efficacy of HS and in agreement with the aims of this work, the attention was focused on the effect of HS on apple juice PPO.…”

“…As widely demonstrated in the literature, HS can promote up to 5 log reductions of a wide spectrum of microbial species in several fresh foods (Basso et al, 2021;Basso et al, 2022a;Bermejo-Prada et al, 2017;Duarte et al, 2022a, b;Duarte et al, 2022b;Fidalgo et al, 2019;Otero & Pérez-Mateos, 2021;Pinto et al, 2018Pinto et al, , 2019Santos et al, 2020;). Based on this evidence, microbiological analyses of apple juice were performed only to confirm the well-known antimicrobial efficacy of HS.…”

“…Based on its bacteriostatic and bactericidal effect, HS has been mainly applied with the purpose of extending the microbiological safety of perishable matrices, which typically require cold conditions. In raw meat, fish, and seafood, HS not only limited microbial growth, but actively induced up to 5 log reductions of total microbial count, enterobacteria, yeasts, and molds (Fidalgo et al, 2019;Otero & Pérez-Mateos, 2021;Santos et al, 2020). HS was even demonstrated to be a quasi-energetically costless alternative to pasteurization and refrigeration of raw fruit juices, egg white, and milk (Basso et al, 2021;Basso et al, 2022a;Bermejo-Prada et al, 2017;Duarte et al, 2022b;Pinto et al, 2018Pinto et al, , 2019.…”

“…Although HS has been proven capable to guarantee food safety and to steer protein structure and techno-functionality, limited data are available on the effect of pressurized storage on food proteins with catalytic activity. This is due to the fact that the majority of the published literature studies about HS have focused almost exclusively on the microbiological aspect of the technology (Duarte et al, 2022b;Fidalgo et al, 2014Fidalgo et al, , 2019Lemos et al, 2017;Otero & Pérez-Mateos, 2021;Pinto et al, 2018Pinto et al, , 2019Santos et al, 2020). To the best of our knowledge, the effect of HS on enzymes has been evaluated in meat, fish, milk, and in some fruit juices.…”

Raw milk preservation by hyperbaric storage: Effect on microbial counts, protein structure and technological functionality

“…The application of the technology is highly sustainable since the maintenance of pressurized conditions can be guaranteed by the sealing of the pressurized vessels solely, accounting for an extremely low energetic cost (Bermejo-Prada et al, 2017). HS has thus been proposed as a sustainable alternative to refrigeration for perishable foods, including meat, fish, cheese, fruit juices, seafood and egg white (Basso, et al, 2021;Duarte et al, 2015;Fidalgo et al, 2018;Freitas et al, 2016;Otero et al, 2019;Otero & Pérez-Mateos, 2021;Santos et al, 2019). In these matrices, HS has been demonstrated to prevent microbial growth and to induce significant inactivation of hygiene indices (e.g.…”