Effect of 10 MeV E-beam irradiation combined with vacuum-packaging on the shelf life of Atlantic salmon fillets during storage at 4 °C

Biochemical properties and gel-forming ability were investigated as a function of storage time to understand the effect of 10 MeV electron linear accelerator irradiation, combined with vacuum-packaging changes, on Atlantic salmon fillets during cold storage at 4 °C. The results showed that compared with those of the control samples, pH, water soluble protein and extractable protein were not significantly altered by irradiation. However, pH, water soluble protein and extractable protein changed notably as storage time increased. While salt soluble protein (SSP), total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), a∗ values, 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and total viable counts (TVC) were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by different irradiation doses, which inhibited the increase in TVB-N but promoted TBA values during the storage period. Moreover, irradiation up to 3 kGy did not significantly change the gel patterns, while the MHC patterns were slightly reduced with the increasing of the storage time.