Shelf Life Prediction Modeling of Vacuum-Packaged Scallops on the Kinetics of Total Volatile Base Nitrogen

Argopecten irradians is one of the cultivated species of seafood in China. Frozen, dried, and vacuum-packaged scallops are the main processed forms of this species. Due to their high moisture content, vacuum-packaged scallops are perishable during storage; thus, accurately predicting shelf life according to the storage environment is particularly important for the seafood industry. Vacuum-packaged instant scallops stored at 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 °C were used in the current study. Total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), pH, water activity, color, hardness, and microbiological composition were ascertained during storage. Based on the 10-point hedonic scale, the shelf lives of instant scallops stored at 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 °C were 96, 78, 60, 42, and 32 days, respectively. Using the Arrhenius equation, a mathematic model based on storage temperature, TVB-N, and storage time was established. The Ea and k0 values were 51 kJ/mol and 3.96 × 106. The model can be used to predict the shelf life for any given temperature-time profile.