Consumer Evaluation of Diploid and Triploid Pacific Oysters Subjected to High Pressure Treatment‪.‬

ABSTRACT A sample of Australian oyster consumers evaluated the sensory quality of diploid and triploid Pacific oysters subjected to high pressure (HP) treatment with and without salt. Triploid and diploid oysters received comparable hedonic ratings despite having dissimilar condition indices at the time of testing. The HP treatment did not adversely affect the sensory quality of Pacific oysters because the test products received similar ratings of sensory quality to the control (unprocessed) products. Moreover, oysters subject to HP received higher ratings for liking of appearance and were judged to have lower levels of perceived saltiness compared with the control. The use of HP in extending the shelf life of farmed Australian oysters should be investigated. KEYWORDS: Pacific oyster, high pressure, triploid, consumer sensory evaluation, sensory quality, Crassostrea gigas