Ready‐to‐eat mussel meat processed in retort pouches for the retail and export market

A processing method has been developed to prepare ready‐to‐eat mussel meat, retaining its natural texture and succulence. The product was vacuum‐packed in an indigenously developed retortable pouch and processed in a still over‐pressure retort. Time and temperature data was collected during heat processing using an Ellab data recorder cum F 0 and cook value integrator. The heat penetration characteristics were determined using a formula method. The total process time was 35 min with a F 0 value of 9.8 and a cook value of 90.3 min. These vacuum‐packed retort‐processed samples were rated excellent by the taste panel and remained in good condition even after storage for 1 year at room temperature. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.