Cold storage of Pacific oysters out of water: biometry, intervalval water and sensory assessment
Due to the important economic activity of oyster production in France, microalgal toxic events represent a significant constraint for shellfish farmers who face closures of bivalve production-sites. The frequency of closures of 3 weeks or less represents half of the total closures along the French coasts. Cold storage could be a simple and affordable solution for temporary and short-term storage before commercialisation. A stock of marketable Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas was therefore stored during 22 days in non-immersed conditions at 3 degrees C with 100% humidity. At the end of the experiment, the oyster mortality rate remained at a low level of less than 3.5%. The sensory attributes, odour, appearance, texture and flavour, did not show significant variations. However, the oyster total weight and fresh flesh weight exhibited losses of 10.5% and a 16.6% after 15 days of storage. At the same time, intervalval water showed a decrease in quality with 20% of the samples characterized by an absence of intervalval water with a flesh more or less moist. These results suggested that the cold storage represents a partial solution to sustain the commercialisation of bivalves during closures of 15 days.
Buzin Florence, Baudon Violaine, Cardinal Mireille, Barille Laurent, Haure Joel (2011). Cold storage of Pacific oysters out of water: biometry, intervalval water and sensory assessment. International Journal Of Food Science And Technology. 46 (9). 1775-1782. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2011.02686.x, https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00041/15245/