Changes in extractive components in live Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels during ice storage

Extractive components of live mussels during ice storage for 13 days were investigated to determine changes in the quality of the mussels. The quality of live mussels was estimated using a taste active value (TAV), an equivalent umami concentration (EUC), and a hierarchical cluster analysis heat map, which were calculated from the extractive components. The extractive components with TAV greater than 1 were glutamic acid, alanine, adenosine monophosphate, and succinic acid during the storage period and aspartic acid up to day 10, whereas the TAV of glycine and inosine monophosphate was less than 1 after day 3. EUCs decreased from 4.38 mg MSG/100 g on day 0 to 3.28 mg MSG/100 g on day 13. Based on the cluster analysis of the metabolite composition and viable bacterial counts, ice-cold live mussels were divided into three clusters: I (days 0–1), II (days 3–10), and III (day 13). Considering not only the decrease in TAV and EUC but also the results of the cluster analysis, it is suggested that live mussels maintain high quality up to the 1st day of ice storage, and thereafter, the quality will be reduced gradually during storage on ice.