Facilitating shrimp (Pandalus borealis) peeling by power ultrasound and proteolytic enzyme

The shrimp industry is seeking green alternatives to the conventional shell-loosening methods i.e., in brine/on ice maturations. The present study provides an investigation regarding the efficiency of power ultrasound with and without combination with proteolytic enzyme to enhance the shell-loosening and therefore improve the peelability. The findings show that ultrasound is a potential technique for shell-loosening and its efficiency is highest when simultaneously combined with enzyme. Ultrasound introduces spiral pathways in the shell and accelerates diffusion of enzyme through the pathways into the muscle-shell attachment. Thus, the use of simultaneous ultrasound-enzyme combination will shorten the shell-loosening time as compared to the conventional methods and increase the peelability without compromising the color and texture quality of shrimp.