Original article Spoilage potential of ice-stored whole musky octopus (Eledone moschata) Vladimiros P. Lougovois, 1 * Maria K. Kolovou, 1 Ioannis N. Savvaidis 2 & Michael G. Kontominas 2 1 Fisheries Laboratory, Department of Food Technology, Technological Educational Institution (TEI) of Athens, 122 10 Egaleo, Athens, Greece 2 Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece (Received 28 December 2006; Accepted in revised form 19 April 2007) Summary The spoilage potential of fresh musky octopus (Eledone moschata) was determined by evaluating the changes in biochemical and physical properties, microbial growth and sensory quality of the mantle and tentacles, over a period of 18 days. Whole musky octopus, stored in melting ice from the time of harvest, had a storage life of 10 days. Early deterioration in the sensory quality resulted primarily from autolytic reactions. Pseudomonas spp. dominated the spoilage flora, reaching an average count of 10 8 CFU g )1 at the end of the trial. The bacterial metabolic end products (trimethylamine, total volatile bases) were not useful as objective indicators of freshness, and measurements of pH would only provide an indicator of decomposition. Changes in the dielectric properties of the mantle were reflective of quality deterioration, but could not yield precise information on the storage history of the cephalopod. The common sulphide producer, Shewanella putrefaciens, was not a major spoiler of ice-stored musky octopus. Keywords Cephalopods, freshness quality, musky octopus, storage life. Introduction Cephalopods are believed to be a major and largely untapped source of marine protein. While groundfish landings have remained fairly stable or declined over the past three decades, the cephalopod world catch has increased substantially (Caddy & Rodhouse, 1998), reaching 3.78 million tones in 2004 (FAO, 2006). With such short-lived species like cephalopods, the fisheries may fluctuate from year to year, being much dependent on the success or failure of a particular breeding season. Nonetheless, cephalopod fisheries appear to be among the few, still with potential for further exploitation. Squid is by far the major cephalopod species produced world- wide, but octopus and cuttlefish are becoming increas- ingly important. Traditionally, cephalopods have been a minor catch in European waters, although they may be locally important, particularly in southern European countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Spain and Greece (Anonymous, 2006), where they command high market price. However, with the decline in traditional finfish stocks across the globe and the increase in market demand for cephalopod species, the importance of these animals to European fisheries is increasing. Musky octopus Eledone moschata (Lamarck, 1798) is a med- ium-sized species (maximum size <1 kg), trawled from flat bottoms of stones, sand and mud. It occurs from 15- to 200-m depth, with greatest concentrations found down to 100 m, and is quite abundant along the eastern and southern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea (Belcari et al., 2002), where it constitutes the bulk of the commercial Eledone landings. A major part of the catches arise as a by-catch of demersal trawl net fisheries for white fish. Eledone species, also including the horned octopus Eledone cirrhosa (Lamarck, 1798), are generally pooled together or with Octopus vulgaris in commercial landings and official fishery statistics. Like most cepha- lopods, Eledone species are prone to rapid spoilage if not chilled immediately after capture, but appear to be less susceptible to damage than squid or cuttlefish. Although octopus species are distributed mainly chilled in ice or frozen, the demand for convenient, pre-packed products and dishes containing pieces of octopus meat has increased significantly, and there appears to be a considerable incentive towards the development of new products. The white flesh, mild flavour and meaty texture of octopus species are major attributes sought by the consumer. In spite of the great progress in finfish marketing and quality assurance that has been achieved over the past two decades, only a few studies have examined sensory, chemical and microbiological changes *Correspondent: Fax: +031 5314874; e-mail: vloug@teiath.gr International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2008, 43, 1286–1294 1286 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2007.01607.x Ó 2007 Institute of Food Science and Technology Trust Fund