Impact of Diets Containing Plant Raw Materials as Fish Meal and Fish Oil Replacement on Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata), and Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Freshness

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate whether the total or high substitution of fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO) by sustainable plant raw materials (plant meal and oils) in long-term feeding for rainbow trout, gilthead sea bream, and common carp can result in spoilage alterations during ice storage. These three species were fed throughout their whole rearing cycle with plant-based diets and compared to counterparts that received FM/FO-based diets or commercial-like diets. Sensory QIM schemes adopted for these species and ATP breakdown products (K-value and components) were used to evaluate the freshness. Sensory acceptability of 14, 15, and 12 days was found for rainbow trout, gilthead sea bream, and common carp, respectively. This corresponded to K-values of approximately 80%, 35%, and 65% for rainbow trout, gilthead sea bream, and common carp, respectively. No major effect of dietary history on postmortem shelf life was shown for gilthead sea bream and common carp; neither sensory-perceived nor chemical freshness showed diet-related differences. Rainbow trout fed with the plant-based diet exhibited slightly worse sensory freshness than fish fed with FM/FO-based diets, at the end of shelf life. These findings imply that FM and FO can be successfully substituted without major impacts on shelf life of fish.