Preliminary Kinetic Assessment of Quality Deterioration and Shelf-Life Estimation in Yellowfin Tuna Under Different Constant Storage Temperatures

The quality of yellowfin tuna is highly vulnerable to microbial proliferation, which accelerates quality deterioration and spoilage throughout storage. In this study, the dynamic changes in biogenic amines (BAs), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and total plate count (TPC) across a different storage temperature range of 0 to 25 °C were studied, followed by a shelf-life prediction based on kinetic models. The TPC, TVB-N, and most BAs increased significantly with increasing storage time and temperature. Correlation analysis was used as an exploratory approach and showed that only histamine and cadaverine exhibited significantly positive correlations (|r| ≥ 0.6, p < 0.05) with TPC and TVB-N within the present dataset. Histamine was selected as a candidate BA indicator for kinetic modeling because only this BA changed significantly during storage at different temperatures. Utilizing histamine, TPC, and TVB-N, preliminary kinetic equations for shelf-life estimation were developed using first-order kinetics and the Arrhenius equation. Among the tested indicators, TPC showed relatively greater temperature sensitivity and preliminary within-batch agreement. These results provide preliminary reference data for further validation of tuna during the refrigeration process.