Project Number: 0500-00031-001-03
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 31, 2006
End Date: Jul 19, 2011

Objective:
Ensure the safety and quality of catfish and other aquaculture/seafood products to consumers. Continued increase in production, processing and consumption of catfish and other aquaculture/seafood products requires an understanding of microbiological, physical, and chemical hazards to these products. The project is to assess various technologies for reducing microbiological, physical, and chemical hazards in catfish and other aquaculture/seafood products in order to produce high quality products desirable by consumers.

Approach:
Enhance the physical safety of products by determining optimal application parameters for various methods of hazard reduction (smoking, acidulants, antimicrobials, IQF, irradiation, high pressure processing). Determine mechanisms by which the certain pathogenic bacteria may be reduced in specific aquatic species products utilizing PCR analysis. Evaluation of effects of various techniques on products will include both trained and consumer sensory panels and economic analysis of market potential.