Differences in chemical, microbial and sensory quality parameters of the marinated ascidia Microcosmus sabatieri Roule, 1885 during storage at 6 °C under vacuum conditions

Summary Chemical, microbial and sensory quality aspects of the marinated ascidia Microcosmus sabatieri Roule, 1885, were examined over a 150-day period at 6 °C, under vacuum and air (control) packaging conditions using three different formulations (with 12% sodium chloride and 3%, 5% or 7% acetic acid). Significant differences were found between chemical and sensory analysis of three different marinated groups (P > 0.05) during the storage period. There were also significant differences in pseudomonads, lactic acid bacteria and yeast and moulds of the marinated groups by which lower bacterial counts were determined. N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids concentrations decreased significantly (P   0.05) in all three groups during storage. The differences in fatty acid and ammonia concentrations were found to be useful as indexes of freshness and decomposition of marinated M. sabatieri in storage. Shelf life of M. sabatieri marinades was found to be 5 and 4 months under vacuum and air (control) packaging conditions respectively, at 6 °C.