Abstract: In order to explore the influence of fermentation temperature and salt content on quality kinetics of low-salt shrimp sauce during fermentation, changes in total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), free amino nitrogen (FAN) and sensory quality were investigated during fermentation at different temperatures (5, 15, and 25 ℃) with the addition of different amounts of salt (12%, 16%, and 20%). The kinetics of these quality changes was modeled. The lower salt content increased the fermentation rate, shortened the ripening time and elevated the TVB-N value at the end of the ripening period. Kinetics of FAN value was fitted to exponential model. At the beginning of fermentation, kinetics of TVB-N value was fitted to a linear model, but it was also fitted to an exponential model at the end of fermentation. The higher fermentation temperature shortened the ripening time, which was 28, 38, and 49 days at 25, 15, and 5 ℃, respectively. For each temperature, both FAN and TVB-N values were linearly correlated with fermentation time. All the models developed could accurately simulate the kinetics of quality changes in shrimp sauce during fermentation.

Key words: low-salt shrimp sauce, temperature, salt, free amino nitrogen, total volatile basic nitrogen, quality kinetics