Effect of replacing phosphate with alkaline electrolyzed water (AEW) on the quality and microbial diversity of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) during frozen storage

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using alkaline electrolytic water (AEW) instead of compound phosphate soaking in modifying the quality and microbial diversity of Litopenaeus vannamei during 80 days of frozen storage at −20 °C. The research determined that replacing 50 % of the compound phosphate with AEW enhanced the soaking weight gain rate (SWG), slowed the rise in total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and reduced the cooking loss (CL) in shrimp, compared to the CPH (AEW with 0.220 g/L sodium pyrophosphate, 0.380 g/L sodium tri-polyphosphate, 0.012 g/L sodium hexametaphosphate, pH ≈ 12.84 and ORP ≈ −338 mV) treatment group. The AEW soaking treatment effectively preserved shrimp quality throughout frozen storage at −20 °C. High-throughput sequencing revealed that AEW significantly suppressed the growth of Rhodobacteriaceae-unclassified, Photobacterium, Flavobacteriaceae-unclassified, and Algoriphagus, without adversely affecting Vibrio and Aliivibrio. In summary, AEW demonstrates comparable effects to compound phosphate treatment in terms of microbial inactivation and maintenance of shrimp quality.