Effects of HVEF treatment on microbial communities and physicochemical properties of catfish fillets during chilled storage

The effects of high-voltage electrostatic field (HVEF) on the microbial communities and quality characteristics of catfish fillets were investigated. Samples with 30 kV/15 min HVEF treatment and without treatment (control) were stored at 4 degrees C for 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 d. The total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and total viable count (TVC) of HVEF-treated sample (20.5 mg/100 g and 5.64 log CFU/g, respectively) were significantly lower than those of the control (32.4 mg/100 g and 7.42 log CFU/g, respectively) at 7 d. Therefore, the shelf life of HVEF-treated fillets was 2 days longer than the control (5 d). Besides, HVEF treated samples showed less tissue damages, lower thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and higher water holding capacity throughout the chilling storage. Additionally, the high-throughput sequencing results indicated that HVEF treatment reduced the relevant abundance of Flavobacterium and Geobacillus at 0 d, and mainly inhibited the growth of Acinetobacter and Streptococcus after 7 d storage, which meant the growth of spoilage bacteria were inhibited, corresponding with the results of TVB-N and TVC. The results indicated HVEF treatment could be implemented as a new fish processing technology to delay product quality deterioration and extend the shelf life of catfish fillets.