• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.827-835
• /
• 2022

Commercial boiled frozen ark shell Scapharca subcrenata (BFAS) is generally used as a seasoned seafood products. One problem facing the industry is that quality decreases during thawing. This study investigated ways to improve quality and shelf-stability of BFAS for use as a non-thermally prepared seasoned seafood products. The Viable bacteria were detected in BFAS after thawing under running water, but were not detected after blanching for over 2 min at 95±5℃. Blanching and dewatering times were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) to reduce the initial number of bacteria and improve BFAS texture. Experimental design was deemed appropriate because no significant difference (P>0.05) was observed between predicted and actual moisture content, hardness, and overall acceptance values. Optimal blanching and dewatering times were 210 s and 80 s, respectively. Optimized blanching and dewatering processes can significantly improve safety and BAFS qualities including texture. These results indicate that BFAS demand as a staple for home meal replacements can be increased by application of optimized blanching and dewatering processes, especially in Korean seafood processing companies where running water thawing is common.