Effect of Cooling Media on Biochemical and Sensory Quality Changes in Pacific White Shrimp ( <i>Litopenaeus vannamei</i> ) During Storage

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different cooling media (100% flake ice (FI-100), a mixture of 50% flake ice and 50% ozone slurry ice (OSI-50), and 100% ozone slurry ice (OSI-100)) on biochemical and sensory quality changes. The results demonstrated that OSI-100 and OSI-50 significantly better preserved sweet and umami free amino acids and delayed the degradation of 5′-AMP and 5′-IMP compared to FI-100. Multivariate PLS-DA and Pearson correlation analysis identified specific amino acids (Glu, Arg, Gly, Pro) and 5′-AMP as key quality markers that were positively correlated (p&amp;lt;0.01) with sensory acceptance. While FI-100 samples were accepted for only 6 days, OSI treatments extended the shelf life to 10 days. These findings demonstrate that OSI effectively maintains the biochemical and flavor integrity of white shrimp, extending the acceptance time of panelists by at least 4 days compared to conventional FI.