title: Quality changes of cuttlefish stored under various atmosphere modifications and vacuum packaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Seafood preservation and its shelf life prolongation are two of the main issues in the seafood industry. As a result, and in view of market globalization, research has been triggered in this direction by applying several techniques such as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), vacuum packaging (VP) and active packaging (AP). However, seafood such as octopus, cuttlefish and others have not been thoroughly investigated up to now. The aim of this research was to determine the optimal conditions of modified atmosphere under which cuttlefish storage time and consequently shelf life time could be prolonged without endangering consumer safety.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that cuttlefish shelf life reached 2, 2, 4, 8 and 8 days for control, VP, MAP 1, MAP 2 and MAP 3 (20% CO2 -80% N2 , 50% CO2 -50% N2 and 70% CO2 -30% N2 for MAP 1, 2 and 3, respectively) samples, respectively, judging by their sensorial attributes. Elevated CO2 levels had a strong microbiostatic effect, whereas storage under vacuum did not offer significant advantages. All physicochemical attributes of MAP-treated samples were better preserved compared to control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Application of high CO2 atmospheres such as MAP 2 and MAP 3 proved to be an effective strategy toward preserving the characteristics and prolonging the shelf life of fresh cuttlefish and thereby improving its potential in the market. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, 38446 Nea Ionia Magnesias, Volos, Greece.
authors.forename: Achilleas D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Bouletis
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, 38446 Nea Ionia Magnesias, Volos, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Arvanitoyannis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Lapithon 6, Larissa, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hadjichristodoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, 38446 Nea Ionia Magnesias, Volos, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neofitou
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Ichthyology and Aquatic Environment, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, 38446 Nea Ionia Magnesias, Volos, Greece.
authors.forename: Foteini F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Parlapani
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Lapithon 6, Larissa, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gkagtzis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001272:Atmosphere; D049832:Decapodiformes / Q000737:chemistry*; D018857:Food Packaging / Q000379:methods*; D017747:Seafood / Q000032:analysis*; D014618:Vacuum
keywords: fresh cuttlefish; modified atmosphere packaging; physicochemical analysis; sensory analysis; shelf life prolongation; vacuum packaging