Abstract

Squid is a good food source for zinc and manganese and high in copper, selenium, vitamin B12 and riboflavin. However, the raw squid suffers a rapid quality loss which occur after catch immediately and during ice storage. The effect of slurry ice (SI), a binary mixture of small spherical ice crystals surrounded by seawater at subzero temperature, on the quality parameters of squid (Ommastrephes bartrami) during chilling storage was investigated compared to flake ice (FI). The rapid decline in the initial temperature with SI (0.83℃ min-1) led to a significant enhancement of shelf life, better control of water content and lower counts of total aerobic bacterial. The use of SI slowed down the formation of total volatile base-nitrogen (TVB-N) in comparison with storage in FI. Additionally, the myofibrillar protein, Ca2 +-ATPase activity, and total sulfydryl (SH) content in muscle treated with SI were all significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the FI samples. This was probably due to the faster cooling and subzero final-temperature occurred with SI. The application of SI to squid is advisable to achieve better quality maintenance during storage and distribution.