Abstract
Thawing is very important in tuna canning because it affects the yield and quality of the canned tuna, and productivity. The effects of vacuum thawing on the quality, yield, and thawing times of frozen skipjack were compared with conventional water immersion thawing. The time required to thaw frozen skipjack tuna (weight 2.5-3.0 kg) from $-10^{\circ}C$ to $-2^{\circ}C$ was 75, 60, and 37 min at a pressure of 17, 23, and 31 mmHg, respectively, corresponding to temperatures of 20, 25, and $30^{\circ}C$. The thawing time decreased with increasing pressure. Vacuum thawing shorten the thawing time by 58-80% compared with water immersion thawing at $20^{\circ}C$, and there was less difference between the core and skin temperatures than with water immersion thawing. No significant change in pH or histamine was observed according to thawing method, while the volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), trimethylamine (TMA), and K value were lower with vacuum thawing than water immersion thawing. Based on these results, we believe that vacuum thawing minimizes the biochemical and microbial changes that occur while thawing frozen skipjack tuna.