Cause of musty flavor in pond-cultured penaeid shrimp

Abstract

In 1983, penaeid shrimp shipped into the United States from culture ponds in Ecuador were found to have an intense earthy-musty flavor which made them unmarketable. High concentrations of geosmin (trans, 1-10-dimethyl-1-9 decalol), a musty odorous compound, were found in the tail muscle of the shrimp. The level of geosmin, 78 mg/kg muscle, was much higher than levels usually found in pond-cultured freshwater catfish of 13±3 mg/kg muscle. Cause of the rare occurrence of off-flavor in the shrimp is hypothesized to be severe reduction in salinity in the coastal culture ponds which allowed growth of odor-producing blue-green algae.