Effect of ohmic heating on texture, microbial load, and cadmium and lead content of Chilean blue mussel (Mytilus chilensis) J.M. Bastías a,d, ⁎, J. Moreno a , C. Pia a,d , J. Reyes a , R. Quevedo b , O. Muñoz c a Department of Food Engineering, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chile b Departmento Acuicultura y Recursos Agroalimentarios, Universidad de Los Lagos, Chile c Institute of Food Science and Technology, Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile d Laboratorio de Experimentación Control y Certificación en Alimentos (LECYCA), Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chile abstract article info Article history: Received 11 November 2014 Received in revised form 27 April 2015 Accepted 13 May 2015 Available online 19 June 2015 Keywords: Ohmic heating Cadmium Lead Microbial load Texture Chilean blue mussels The effect of ohmic heating (OH) on the texture, microbial load, and cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) content was evaluated in Chilean blue mussel (Mytilus chilensis) at shucking and subsequent canning. Mussel samples were processed by OH and blanching (BLAN) at 50 ± 1 °C, 70 ± 1 °C and 90 ± 1 °C for shucking and then canning at 115 °C for 20 min. The Cd and Pb content in fresh mussels was 2.47 ± 0.18 μgg -1 and 5.26 ± 0.55 μgg -1 dry weight (dw). The greatest reduction in Cd content was reached at 90 ± 1 °C by OH with 1.67 ± 0.06 μgg -1 (dw) and 1.69 ± 0.08 μgg -1 (dw) by BLAN. At the same temperature, the Pb content was reduced to 4.18 ± 0.24 μgg -1 dw for OH and 4.14 ± 0.30 μgg -1 dw for BLAN. The cutting strength of fresh samples (21.35 ± 2.44 N) significantly decreased in samples processed by OH (15.65 ± 1.36 N) at 90 ± 1 °C compared with BLAN samples (20.41 ± 3.16 N) at the same temperature. The initial mean count for mesophilic aerobic micro- organisms and Enterobacteriaceae was 3.8 log cfu/g and 2.5 log cfu/g, respectively. The mesophilic aerobic micro- organism count was reduced by 1.7 logarithmical units, while Enterobacteriaceae counts were reduced to undetectable levels by OH at 90 ± 1 °C. Industrial relevance: High temperature short time (HTST) processes rely on rapid convection heat transfer and are thus well suited to liquid foods. But, they are, however, limited in application to particulates since, for particles more than a couple of millimeters thick, the processing time is insufficient for heat to transfer to the center to give sterility. Ohmic heating is an emerging technology and very promising in food industries. It is a thermal process in which heat is generated internally in food and acts as a resistance to the flow of alternating electric current. This type of treatment prevents overheating by producing less deterioration in food components. It is a rapid procedure that allows food to conserve its natural properties; microorganisms and enzymes are also inactivated. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the effect of Ohmic heating on mechanical properties, microbial load, Cd and Pb content in the opening and subsequent canning of Chilean blue mussel (Mytilus chilensis). This information could be used for the seafood industries in order to improve thermal heating processes in mussels. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Marine cultivation has been identified as an economic and social development alternative in many countries of the world (Ottolenghi, Silvestri, Giordano, Lovatelli, & New, 2005). Chile is apt to develop mol- lusk aquaculture because of its many estuaries and bays (Alcapán, Néspolo, & Toro, 2007; Sánchez, 2002), especially in the southern coast- al zones of the country. It has become one of the largest bivalve mollusk producers in Latin America. Of the commercially important mollusk species for Chilean aquaculture, the Chilean blue mussel is of great eco- nomic and gastronomic interest. Mytilus chilensis, Chilean blue mussel, also known as “chorito” or “quilmahue”, is a bivalve filter feeder mollusk of the Mytilidae family found from Arica to Cape Horn in Chile (Lancellotti & Vásquez, 2000); it lives in the hard substrates of the intertidal zone to a depth of 25 m (Krapivka et al., 2007; Navarro, Contreras, & Chaparro, 2008). It is the second most important Chilean aquaculture production after salmon. Disembarked Chilean blue mussels have increased from 41,406 tons in 2001 to 288,995 tons in 2011 (SERNAPESCA, 2012). The Chilean blue mussel and other bivalve mollusks are an impor- tant food source for many world populations because they concentrate and provide a large number of nutrients (Yap, Ismail, & Tan, 2004). They have high biological value proteins, provide many essential amino acids, and supply essential fatty acids, such as long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered important for cardiovascular health (Leblanc et al., 2005). Bivalves have also been widely used to evaluate the Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 30 (2015) 98–102 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Av. Andrés Bello s/n, Casilla 447, Chillán, Chile. Tel.: +56 42 2463072; fax: +56 42 2463066. E-mail address: jobastias@ubiobio.cl (J.M. Bastías). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2015.05.011 1466-8564/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ifset