Shelf life and textural properties of cooked-chilled black tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon) stored in vacuum pack or modified atmospheric packaging at 4 or 20 °C

• Shelf life studies of black tiger prawns at two storage temperature were carried out.
• Prawn samples stored at 4 °C showed extended shelf life compared to 20 °C.
• Vacuum packaging of prawns was found to be the most efficient method of preservation for keeping microbial counts down and preserving selected quality parameters.

This paper investigates the effective of different packaging and preservation strategies on the shelf life of both cooked and raw black tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon). Prawn samples were cooked-chilled followed by either vacuum-packed or gas-flushed. Raw samples were used as control treatment. Each method of preservation was stored for 14 days at both 4 °C and 20 °C. Prawn samples were analysed for microbial, physical and sensorial properties for a 14 day storage period at storage temperatures of 4 and 20 °C. It was found that the method of vacuum-packing prawns was most efficient at preserving their sensorial and textural properties. This method also increased the lag phase of microbial growth at both storage temperatures. Therefore, from this study it can be concluded that the most effective method of preserving prawns is vacuum-packing prawns followed by storage at 4 °C as this keeps microbial counts down while at the same time preserving textural and sensorial qualities of the prawns.