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. 2025 Jul 29;14(15):2652.
doi: 10.3390/foods14152652.

Study on the Microbial Inactivation and Quality Assurance of Ultrasonic-Assisted Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water for Mirror Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) Fillets During Refrigerated Storage

Qiang Zhong  1 , Xiufang Xia  1 , Fangfei Li  2
Affiliations

Study on the Microbial Inactivation and Quality Assurance of Ultrasonic-Assisted Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water for Mirror Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) Fillets During Refrigerated Storage

Qiang Zhong et al. Foods. .

Abstract

The advancement of non-thermal disinfection technologies represents a critical pathway for ensuring food safety, meeting environmental sustainability requirements, and meeting consumer preferences for clean-label products. This study systematically evaluated the combined preservation effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water (US+SAEW) on mirror carp fillets during refrigeration. Results demonstrated that US+SAEW exhibited superior antimicrobial efficacy compared to individual US or SAEW, achieving reductions of 0.73, 0.74, and 0.79 log CFU/g in total viable counts (TVC), Aeromonas bacteria, and lactic acid bacteria counts compared to the control, respectively. Furthermore, the combined intervention significantly suppressed microbial proliferation throughout the refrigeration period while simultaneously delaying protein and lipid degradation/oxidation induced by spoilage bacteria, thereby inhibiting the formation of alkaline nitrogenous compounds. Consequently, lower levels of pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), protein carbonyl, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were observed in US+SAEW compared to the other treatments. Multimodal characterization through low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), texture, and color analysis confirmed that US+SAEW effectively preserved quality characteristics, extending the shelf life of mirror carp fillets by four days. This study provides a novel non-thermal preservation strategy that combines microbial safety maintenance with quality retention, offering particular advantages for thermolabile food.

Keywords: aquatic product preservation; microbial inactivation; refrigerated storage; slightly acidic electrolyzed water; ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water on the counts of total viable (A), Aeromonas bacteria (B), lactic acid bacteria (C), and possible disinfection mechanism (D) in refrigerated mirror carp fillets. Control: no treatment; US: ultrasonic treatment; SAEW: slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment; US+SAEW: ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment. The means at the same storage time with different letters differ significantly (p < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water on pH (A) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) (B) in refrigerated mirror carp fillets. Control: no treatment; US: ultrasonic treatment; SAEW: slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment; US+SAEW: ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment. The means at the same storage time with different letters differ significantly (p < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water on protein carbonyl content (A) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) (B) in refrigerated mirror carp fillets. Control: no treatment; US: ultrasonic treatment; SAEW: slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment; US+SAEW: ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment. The means at the same storage time with different letters differ significantly (p < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water on water distribution (A), T2 relaxation time (B) and water peak area (C) in refrigerated mirror carp fillets. T2b: bound water; T21: immobilized water; T22: free water; P2b: percentage of bound water; P21: percentage of immobilized water; P22: percentage of free water. Control: no treatment; US: ultrasonic treatment; SAEW: slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment; US+SAEW: ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment. The means at the same storage time with different letters differ significantly (p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water on CIE L* (A), a* (B) and b* (C) in refrigerated mirror carp fillets. Control: no treatment; US: ultrasonic treatment; SAEW: slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment; US+SAEW: ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment. The means at the same storage time with different letters differ significantly (p < 0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effect of ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water on hardness (A), springiness (B), chewiness (C) and resilience (D) in refrigerated mirror carp fillets. Control: no treatment; US: ultrasonic treatment; SAEW: slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment; US+SAEW: ultrasonic-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water treatment. The means at the same storage time with different letters differ significantly (p < 0.05).
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