Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation Australian Prawn Farmers Association R&D meeting – 27 th May 2011 Carl Paulo Innovative Food Technologies

2 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Project No. 2010/707 Loss minimisation in farmed prawns through improvements in storage life and colour

3 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Overview Last update presented on 30 th November 2010 Milestone report submitted 8 th February 2011 Project objectives –Shelf life extension of chilled cooked prawns –Colour retention of cooked prawns during frozen storage

4 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Chilled shelf life extension Previously identifying spoilage organisms on frozen prawns Currently identifying SSO’s of chilled prawns 2 batches of prawns sourced from each farm –2x farms near Gold Coast –2x farms near Townsville –2x farm near Bundaberg Crystal Bays

5 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Identification of SSO Pyschrobacter cibus maritimus nivimaris Carnobacterium funditum Brochothrix thermosphacta Pseudomonas sp. ??? Shewanella sp. ??? Flavobacterium Micrococcus Knockout Screening Did not pursue further

6 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Commercial antimicrobial products screened ProductCompanyIngredient Herbal-Active™Vic CherikoffAustralian herb extracts PuraQ®Verdad NV55PuracCultured sugars and organic acids PuraQ®FCC88 L(+)PuracLactic acid PuraQ®AROME NA4PuracFermented by-products MicroGARD®730DaniscoCultured dextrose and Maltodextrin Aussan-W4Environmental Services Bioflavonoids CitrofreshGDM Technologies Bioflavonoids ZydoxZychem Technologies Cl0 2 with citric acid activator AlphasanEko solutionsCl0 2

7 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 SSO knockout screening 96 well plate screening –Commercial products –In-house formulations (Kakadu plum, citric acid, lactic acid) High kill rates against majority SSOs –Citrofresh –Purac FCC88 –Zydox –Aussan –Kakadu plum –Lactic acid –Citric acid

8 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Packaging trial Will products inhibit SSO growth on prawn? Prawns dipped in solutions Sealed in polyethylene bags Kept on ice in cold room (4°C) Micro tested

9 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Micro results - Total plate count

10 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Micro results - H2S Anaerobes

11 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Where to from here? Confirm chilled prawns SSO are identical to frozen prawns Address quality issues Identify synergistic solutions to address H2S anaerobes Packaging options –Bulk packs (storage and distribution) –Convenience packs (retail or food service) –Understanding time lines from packaging at farm, distribution centres and retail outlets for chilled storage

12 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Colour retention during frozen storage Time in storage Storage temperatures: -20°C vs -30°C Temperature abuse Presence of Oxygen Blast vs IQF freezing Rate of freezing: Slow vs Quick Glazing: –Thickness –Freezing method –Solutions and additives

13 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Temperature variation

14 © The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2010 Rate of slow freezing