CHARACTERIZATION OF MINCED MEAT EXTRACTED FROM BLUE-CRAB PICKING PLANT BY-PRODUCTS

Blue crab meat was mechanically extracted from picking-room by-products to produce the following minced meat yields: 3.18%, white; 10.71%, mixed; 6.39%, claw, and 2.62%, leg. Each meat had distinct visual, textural, and flavor attributes. Aerobic plate counts of unpasteurized minced meat ranged from 10(5) to 10(7) CFU/g. Extraction within 1.5 hours of picking or icing of by-products prior to mechanical extraction stabilized microbial levels. Meat pasteurized at 80.6-degrees-C darkened or blued significantly less than meat processed at 83.3-degrees-C. Addition of citric acid-phosphate buffer to meat pasteurized at 80.6-degrees-C further reduced darkening of meats.