Controlled Recirculating Wet Storage Purging V. parahaemolyticus in Oysters

This work explored the effects of salinity and temperature on the efficacy of purging V. parahaemolyticus from eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Oysters were inoculated with a 5-strain cocktail of V. parahaemolyticus to levels of 10(4) to 10(5) MPN (most probable number)/g and depurated in a controlled re-circulating wet-storage system with artificial seawater (ASW). Both salinity and temperature remarkably affected the efficacy for the depuration of V. parahaemolyticus from oysters during wet-storage. The wet-storage process at salinity 20 ppt at 7.5 °C or 10 °C could achieve a larger than 3 log (MPN/g) reduction of Vibrio at Day 7, which meets the FDA’s requirement as a post-harvest process for V. parahaemolyticus control. At the conditions of 10 °C and 20 ppt, a pre-chilled system could achieve a 3.54 log (MPN/g) reduction of Vibrio in oysters on Day 7. There was no significant difference in the shelf life between inoculated and untreated oysters before the depuration, with a same survival rate (stored in a 4 °C cooler for 15 days) of 93%.