Establishment of the Flavor Quality Standard for White Shrimp (<i>Litopenaeus vannamei</i>) by Instrumental and Sensory Approaches

White shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), renowned for its delectable taste, are currently the most widely cultivated shrimp species globally, bearing substantial economic importance. Traditionally, market valuation of white shrimp emphasizes its size rather than flavor quality, although theoretically superior flavor quality should command higher prices. However, accurately assessing flavor quality poses challenges. Thus, this study aims to establish a scientific framework for evaluating the white shrimp flavor quality through statistical correlations between sensory scores and instrumental data. Results demonstrated that elevated sensory scores corresponded to increased levels of alanine, glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and inosine monophosphate (IMP). Standard criteria were established by using the average value plus 0.675 times the standard deviation of the background value of that compound from 13 collected white shrimps. Developed criteria include alanine (243 mg/100 g), glycine (878 mg/100 g), glutamic acid (80 mg/100 g), aspartic acid (14 mg/100 g), and IMP (200 mg/100 g).