Edible portions of precooked blue swimming crab: Chemical composition and effect of chitooligosaccharide conjugate and high-pressure processing on microbial inactivation

Different edible portions including meat (lump, claw and backfin) and roe of blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) were analyzed. Both meat and roe had high protein content, but a greater fat content was found in roe. All meats showed higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids than roe. Myosin heavy chain and actin constituted as key proteins in meat, but the protein pattern of roe was completely different. Glutamic acid/glutamine were dominant in lump meat, while leucine was prevalent in roe. Meats were fibrous, while roe had a granular structure. Moraxellaceae were dominant in both samples and roe had higher microbial diversity than lump meat. When chitooligosaccharide-catechin (COSC) conjugate and high-pressure processing (HPP) were applied for both lump meat and roe, COSC conjugate (200 ppm) reduced Vibrio spp., and HPP at 500 MPa eliminated all detectable bacteria in both samples. Developed method was promising for enhancing food safety and maintaining quality of precooked crab products.