Effect of Different Drying Methods on Physicochemical and Microbiological and Properties of Dried Shrimp (Parapenaeopsis spp.) Powder

The shrimp species of the penaeid family, ecological and commercial importance in the regions as a food source. These aquatic products can be treated by salting to reduce water activity and produce a commercial product with a good shelf life. This study aims to analyse the effects of four drying methods, including sun drying (SD) at 45–50 °C, hot air drying (HAD), and vacuum drying (VD), and oven drying (OD) at 50 °C, on the quality of shrimp (Parapenaeopsis spp.) powder. The nutritional content was determined using the AOAC methods for dried shrimp powder. The microbial growth in dried shrimp powder was determined by total plate count (TPC) method. The HAD resulted in low moisture content about 6.11±2.20 and high protein content about 46.59±3.76 for dried prawn powder. The lightness index for dried shrimp decreased due to the Maillard reaction. The sample using HAD showed the highest value of lightness, which is 62.68±2.79. The water activity of dried shrimp powder prepared by VD and HAD resulted in the highest and lowest values, 0.93±0.01 and 0.43±0.01, respectively. The colony count for HAD has the lowest value of colony count, 2.90 ±0.84 Log CFU/ml while highest colony count recorded in VD, 6.28±0.09 Log CFU/ml. HAD shown the best quality of dried shrimp compared to other drying methods.