Graduation date: 1972

Thesis (M.S.) in Food Science and Human Nutrition--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Advisory Committee: Denise Skonberg, Asst. Prof. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Advisor; Alfred A. Bushway, Prof. of Food Science; Mary Ellen Camire, Prof. of Food Science and Human Nutrition; Robert Bayer, Prof. of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Linda Kling, Assoc. Prof. of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. Bibliography: leaves 184-192.

The purpose of this study is to describe Dungeness crab marketing from the ocean floor to the ultimate consumer; to identify relations among the Oregon Dungeness crab industry, the Pacific Coast Dungeness crab industry, and the Alaska King crab industry; and to specify the relationships between fishermen's prices for Dungeness crab and levels of Oregon production1 levels of total U.S. Dungeness crab production, levels of King crab production, and King crab prices. Primary data were gathered from fishermen, processors, state fish agencies, and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. Secondary sources were utilized to gain general information on King crab fishing and processing. Dungeness crab is usually sold by fishermen to processors. Processors generally sell the crab through brokers to fish wholesalers, but they may also sell directly to fish wholesalers or retailers. A definite seasonal trend was found in prices received by fishermen. However, cyclical movements have a much greater impact upon absolute price levels received by fishermen. Total catch of Dungeness crab and King crab prices were found to play important roles in determining prices received by Oregon Dungeness crab fishermen. It is concluded from the analysis that: (1) an industry-wide commission is needed to advertise and promote Dungeness crab products; (2) the ocean fishing season should be opened January 1 instead of December 1 of each year; (3) processors should endeavor to expand into new marketing areas to increase demand for their products;(4) grades and quality standards should be established; and (5) further research is needed in the technological, biological, and economic aspects of Dungeness crab production and marketing. / Graduation date: 1967

Thesis (M. Sc.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1998. / Bibliography: leaves 91-95.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-115). Also available via the Internet.

Graduation date: 1961

Graduation date: 1968

Crab meat is important to the economy of coastal Virginia. The objectives of this study were to complete a shelf-life study on two different packaging styles of fresh crab meat and to test the inhibition capabilities of Carnobacterium piscicola against the pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. In a shelf-life study, a 12 ounce food grade polyethylene traditional snap-lid container of fresh crab meat was compared to an 8 ounce SimpleStep® trays with Cryovac™ film of equally fresh crab meat sealed with 10,000 cc/m2/24hr oxygen transmission rate (OTR) film. Eleven g samples were used for the microbial shelf-life study conducted at 4°C for 12 days. Aerobic plate counts of crab meat indicated microbial growth from the SimpleStep® trays with Cryovac™ film in 10,000 cc/m2/24hr OTR versus the polyethylene snap-lid was not significant (P>0.05). In objective two, 25 g samples of fresh and pasteurized blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) meat were inoculated with 0.1ml of each, C. piscicola and L. monocytogenes. Three different concentrations of the inoculation levels were studied on select days at both 4°C and 10°C. Microbial spoilage was defined as 107 CFU/g. In fresh crab meat, at both 4°C and 10°C, crab meat spoilage occurred at 7 days or less. In the pasteurized crab meat, at 4°C and 10°C, spoilage did not occur prior to 26 days, and studies were terminated at 28 days of storage. The growth of the two organisms in fresh crab meat was found to be significant for the differing concentration levels and sampling days (P<0.05). The growth of the two organisms in pasteurized crab meat was significant for different concentration levels, sampling days and temperature (P<0.05). In both fresh and pasteurized crab meat, regardless of the inoculation ratios, the L. monocytogenes and C.piscicola followed similar growth trends, but L. monocytogenes was higher in the 2:2 CFU/g concentration and lower at the 6:2 CFU/g concentration level. Although C. piscicola did not completely inhibit L. monocytogenes growth at any concentration ratio, some inhibition was observed. / Master of Science

The Food and Drug Administration has recently expressed concern for the safety of seafood and seafood products. One of the concerns is the presence of Bacillus cereus in fresh blue crab meat. Bacillus cereus is a spore-forming pathogen whose spores survive the customary thermal treatments applied during cooking and pasteurization; therefore it could potentially present a health concern to consumers as the microorganism could increase to pathogenic levels. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of a post-processing method i.e. high hydrostatic pressure treatment on the quality of fresh crab meat and to evaluate the effectiveness of high pressures on the inactivation of B. cereus spores. Fresh blue crab meat was pressurized at 300 and 550 MPa at 25° C for 5 min and stored at 4° C for 31 days to determine the pressurization effects on the microbiological, physical, and sensory quality of the meat. A pressure of 300 MPa caused a 1 log reduction in total aerobic plate count and a 3 day lag period, whereas 550 MPa inactivated 2 logs in total aerobic plate count with no evident lag phase. Physical and sensory qualities of pressurized crab meat were not statistically different from the untreated crab meat (P>0.05). A pressure of 300 MPa extended the shelf-life from 17 to over 24 days with the prevalence of Carnobacterium piscicola at the time of spoilage. Crab meat treated with 550 MPa was not rejected by sensory panels at day 31 and Enterococcus spp. was identified as the predominant microorganism. High hydrostatic pressure (550 MPa at 40° C for 15 min) inactivated less than 1 log (0.66 log) of B. cereus spores inoculated in fresh crab meat. The meat essentially had a protective effect on pressure inactivation of the spores. During storage (31 days), surviving B. cereus was suppressed and outgrown by the other pressure resistant microflora at a storage temperature of 12° C. At 4° C, B. cereus could compete with the other pressure-resistant microflora and was isolated even at the end of the storage period (day 31); however, diarrheal toxin was not detected in any stored samples. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to find an alternative instrumental method to sensory analysis and to further investigate the aroma properties of spoiling blue crab meat. This was accomplished by use of a Cyranose 320™ Electronic Nose, Draeger-Tubes®, and solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). These techniques were compared to the more established techniques for determining quality of blue crab meat of sensory and microbiological analysis. Three different electronic nose methods were used to evaluate five sequentially spoiled groups of crab meat. The manufacturer's recommended setup only resulted in a 30 % correct separation of the known groups, and only 10 % of the samples were correctly identified when coded unknown samples were used to validate the electronic nose training results. The compressed air method which utilized compressed tank breathing air, filtered through activated carbon and moisture traps resulted in 100 % separation of the known groups, but only correctly identified 20 % of the coded unknown samples. Draeger-Tubes® were found to be more accurate and precise compared with the electronic nose. All 5 groups of samples analyzed using Draeger-Tubes® were found to be significantly different at α = 0.05 using a Tukey-Kramer ANOVA statistical procedure. The coded unknown samples were correctly identified at a rate of 83 %. The simplicity and rapidness of this procedure allows it to possibly be an alternative for the crab industry as an alternative to sensory analysis. SPME-GC-MS found trimethylamine (TMA), ammonia, and indole to best correlate with spoilage of blue crab meat. TMA was found to be sensitive to the minor changes in the early stages (0 - 4 days of refrigerated storage) of spoilage for blue crab meat. Indole corresponded well with sensory results, which suggests that indole may be a promising indicator for detecting early, mid, and highly spoiled samples. It is feasible that these methods can be applied to other crustaceans to determine spoilage level. / Master of Science in Life Sciences