LAUSR

Abstract The objectives of this study were to produce water-soluble chitosan (WSC) powder and to evaluate the effect of WSC on the survival of Listeria innocua inoculated onto shrimp surfaces. WSC powder was produced using a combination of enzymatic hydrolysis, ultrafiltration, and freeze drying. WSC solutions of 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 g/100 mL concentrations were prepared by dissolving the WSC powder in water. All concentrations of the WSC solutions showed anti-L. innocua activity in vitro, with the 5 g/100 mL WSC solution reducing initial L. innocua counts by 7.43 log CFU/mL. Freshly acquired shrimp were inoculated with L. innocua to an initial concentration of 7.65 log CFU/g. The inoculated shrimp samples were separately dipped in water (control) and in the WSC solutions for 1 min. After dipping in deionized water and 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 g/100 mL WSC solutions, the L. innocua counts were reduced by 1.50, 1.99, 2.25, 3.56, and 5.34 log CFU/g, respectively. For aerobic bacteria loads (8.43 log CFU/g) including L. innocua and natural shrimp microflora, dipping in deionized water and 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 g/100 mL WSC solution resulted in 0, 0.69, 3.21, 3.71, and 4.43 log CFU/g reductions, respectively. This study demonstrated that a low viscosity (0.01–0.29 Pa s) WSC solution could be used as an antimicrobial agent to reduce microbial loads on the surface of shrimp.