Hydrogen sulfide production by Pseudomonas putrefaciens in shrimp experimentally packed in nitrogen

Shrimp refrigerated in a nitrogen atmosphere develop off-odors not typical of normal spoilage. Investigations of this phenomenon showed that hydrogen sulfide developed in the headspace gas, and a large percentage of the microbial population present on the shrimp stored in nitrogen was capable of hydrogen sulfide production, in contrast to the flora on shrimp stored in air. The predominant hydrogen sulfide-producing organism, Pseudomonas putrefaciens, was present in low numbers on fresh shrimp but usually reached high numbers by day 8 of nitrogen storage. Further studies revealed that cysteine and cystine were the probable substrates in shrimp utilized by this organism for hydrogen sulfide production. When shrimp sterilized by irradiation were inoculated with P. putrefaciens and incubated in an atmosphere of nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and the characteristic off-odors developed.