Spoilage of fresh oysters is complex, but generally includes metabolic activities of microbial organisms and biochemical reactions such as oxidation or enzyme activity (Ashie et al., 1996). Storage conditions and biochemical composition will dictate which of these will dominate the spoilage process (Ashie et al., 1996). Importantly, spoilage patterns of molluscan shellfish differ to most species of seafood as they contain high levels of carbohydrate in the form of glycogen. This physiological difference results in a changed spoilage pattern where glycogen is fermented to organic acids by saccharolytic and fermentative bacteria