Abstract:

The aims of this work were to evaluate the effect of slurry ice treatment on preserving the quality of skipjack tuna
using traditional flake ice as control and to further explore the functional properties of the treated muscle proteins in skipjack
tuna. The results indicated that: 1) the particles of the prepared slurry ice had a spherical shape with smooth surface, high
unit surface area and good flowability. The temperature of skipjack tuna meat could decrease from 35 to 1.3 ℃ within 8 min
when treated with slurry ice; 2) the values of springiness and chewiness for the processed meat in slurry ice were 1.19 mm
and 5.50 mJ, respectively, after 18 days storage at -4 ℃, as compared to 0.67 mm and 1.65 mJ for the blank (no added ice),
and 0.95 mm and 3.32 mJ for the samples chilled in traditional flake ice, respectively, indicating that slurry ice treatment
was significantly effective on the texture properties of tuna meat (P < 0.05); 3) the contents of myofibrillar protein and total
sulfhydryl, and the activity of Ca2＋-ATPase decreased in three groups (blank, flake ice and slurry ice) after 18 days storage
at -4 ℃, while the samples treated with slurry ice had significantly higher quality than two other treatments (P < 0.05). In
addition, slurry ice treatment also showed good inhibition on myoglobin autoxidation and could preserved meat color. These
findings confirmed that slurry ice was a suitable medium for the storage of skipjack tuna.

Key words: skipjack tuna, slurry ice, flake ice, quality maintenance, protein, functional properties