Combined Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma and Chitooligosaccharide–EGCG Conjugate on Quality and Shelf-Life of Depurated Asian Green Mussel

The combined effects of chitooligosaccharide-epigallocatechin gallate conjugate (CEC) at different concentrations (1, 2, and 3%, <i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) and cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on the depurated Asian green mussel edible portion (AGM-EP) were investigated during refrigerated storage for 15 days. Among all the treatments, the microbial counts, total volatile bases (TMA-N and TVB-N), and lipid oxidation of AGM-EP-treated 3% CEC in conjunction with CAP (CEC-3-CAP) were lower than the other samples during 15-day storage (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Total viable bacteria (6.16 log CFU/g sample), psychrotrophic bacteria (3.24 log CFU/g sample), <i>Vibrio</i> spp. (2.47 log CFU/g sample), presumptive <i>Pseudomonas</i> (5.93 log CFU/g sample), and H₂S-producing bacteria (5.05 log CFU/g sample) counts of the CEC-3-CAP were lower than samples treated with 1 and 2% (<i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) CEC on day 15, as well as samples solely treated using CAP during refrigerated storage, irrespective of storage time. Additionally, CEC-3-CAP had significantly lower lipid oxidation (PV: 8.36 mg cumene hydroperoxide/kg sample and TBARS: 2.65 mg MDA/kg sample) as compared to those without CEC added and other samples (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The incorporation of CEC effectively mitigated lipid oxidation as supported by lower reduction of PUFAs in AGM-EP. Moreover, on day 0, no significant differences were observed in cooking loss or textural parameters (firmness and toughness) among the treatments (<i>p</i> > 0.05). However, as storage progressed, cooking loss increased in the CEC-3-CAP sample, while a noticeable decline in firmness and toughness was recorded (<i>p</i> < 0.05). This further attributed to the lower likeness attained for CAP-3-CAP on day 12, but the score was higher than the acceptable limit (5.0). Therefore, CAP together with CEC is a promising technology to prolong the shelf-life of depurated AGM-EP by at least 9 days as compared to the control (3 days), but it certainly needs further studies for the retention of textural properties and sensorial attributes.