Effects of Modified Atmosphere Packaging Combined with High Power Pulse Microwave on Quality of Crab Meat during Storage

In order to study the preservation effect of modified atmosphere packaging combined with high power pulse microwave on crab meat, the treatment of different gas types and their composition ratio (100% CO₂, 80% CO₂+20% N₂, 50% CO₂+50% N₂, 20% CO₂+80% N₂) combined with high power pulse microwave (HPPM, action frequency 200 Hz, 6 min) were set in the experiment. The changes of total bacterial colonies, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) of crab meat were measured during storage at 25 ℃. The results showed that the total bacterial colonies, TVB-N and TBARS of crab meat packaged with different modified atmosphere were lower than those of the control group, and the inhibition effect of 100% CO₂ treatment group was the best. The modified atmosphere packaging combined with HPPM significantly (P<0.05) enhanced the inhibitory effect, and greatly reduced the TVB-N and TBARS. 100% CO₂ modified atmosphere packaging combined with HPPM could extend the shelf life by 2 d under 25 ℃ storage.