Identifier

etd-06102009-081716

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Nutrition and Food Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Shrimp is one of the most common seafoods and a favorite among consumers. Like any other food there are safety concerns about shrimp. Listeria species, Salmonella species, Clostridium species and Vibrio species are among the pathogens of prime importance. Most of these pathogens can be eliminated by cooking. However, the extent of cooking and temperatures greatly influence the safety of these foods. The current study is focused on the determination of minimum cooking temperatures for shrimp to eliminate Listeria species, Salmonella species and Vibrio species. Shrimp were surface inoculated with the three different species mentioned above to about 5.00 log CFU/g of shrimp and then incubated for two days. Shrimp samples were treated at five different temperatures on days 0 (day of inoculation), 1 and 2 by boiling. The effects of heat treatments by boiling on bacterial counts were determined by plating and calculating the log CFU/g reduction for each temperature. The experiment was repeated with different temperatures for each bacterium until the bacterial load in the shrimp was at non-detectable levels. The internal temperature of 85oC was the lowest temperature that was needed to kill all the bacteria tested. Vibrio species were less resistant to heat with bacterial counts reaching non-detectable levels at 55oC. 75oC was the minimum temperature required to eliminate Salmonella species, while Listeria species showed highest resistance up to 85oC. This study is mainly intended to design a simple, easy and unbiased consumer guide for cooking shrimp to enhance safety while handling and cooking them at home. This can also serve as a guide for manufacturers of ready-to-eat shrimp products while designing and planning CCP’s in HACCP plans during production.

Date

2009

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Marlene E.Janes

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.2035

Included in

Life Sciences Commons

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