Review on Spoilage and Quality Indices of Prawns

Abstract

Prawns are a highly nutritious and most traded seafood commodity that contains a commendable quantity of easily digestible protein, minerals, vitamins and low saturated fats, especially omega3 fatty acids. Nevertheless, high water content, pH, natural autolytic enzymes, free amino acids and microbes in prawns make it vulnerable to rapid spoilage, consequently affect the shelf-life. Knowhow regarding the spoilage patterns of prawns would aid to adopt suitable processing technology to overcome this menace. The freshness or spoilage pattern of the prawns could be scientifically demonstrated by assessing the physicochemical and microbiological quality indices. The main intention behind this article was to demonstrate a comprehend review for the post mortem changes of prawn and associated physicochemical quality indices ie., pH, trimethylamine (TMA), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), K-value, indole, thiobarbituric acid (TBA), free fatty acids (FFA), black spot formation, hardness, colour, organoleptic properties and bacterial flora during storage.