Title: Effect of combined blast and contact (CBC) cooling and gutting on the quality of Tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica) during chilled storage

A study was conducted to analyse the effect of the Combined Blast and Contact (CBC) cooling technique on the quality of gutted and ungutted tilapia during cold storage in terms of microbial, physicochemical and sensory attributes. The storage temperature was -1°C for the initial 6 days and after that 2°C for simulating sea freight and transportation and retail chain in Europe respectively. The storage time was 20 days. The CBC treated fish maintained a lower temperature compared to the untreated during the last days of the storage. Ungutted tilapia showed higher Total Viable Count (TVC), Specific Spoilage Organisms (SSO), pH, Total Volatile Base- Nitrogen (TVB-N) values and spoilage compared to gutted fish. Therefore, tilapia should be gutted during processing. The effect of CBC treatment and gutting were minor in shelf life determination. The shelf life of tilapia was 17 days on the basis of microbial and sensory analysis.