Effect of Cold Smoking and Natural Antioxidants on Quality Traits, Safety and Shelf Life of Farmed Meagre (<i>Argyrosomus regius</i>) Fillets, as a Strategy to Diversify Aquaculture Products
Concetta Maria Messina,
Rosaria Arena,
Giovanna Ficano,
Mariano Randazzo,
Maria Morghese,
Laura La Barbera,
Saloua Sadok,
Andrea Santulli
Affiliations
Concetta Maria Messina
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare DiSTeM, Laboratorio di Biochimica Marina ed Ecotossicologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via G. Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy
Rosaria Arena
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare DiSTeM, Laboratorio di Biochimica Marina ed Ecotossicologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via G. Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy
Giovanna Ficano
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare DiSTeM, Laboratorio di Biochimica Marina ed Ecotossicologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via G. Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy
Mariano Randazzo
Istituto di Biologia Marina, Consorzio Universitario della Provincia di Trapani, Via G. Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy
Maria Morghese
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare DiSTeM, Laboratorio di Biochimica Marina ed Ecotossicologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via G. Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy
Laura La Barbera
Istituto di Biologia Marina, Consorzio Universitario della Provincia di Trapani, Via G. Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy
Saloua Sadok
Laboratory of Blue Biotechnology & Aquatic Bioproducts (B3Aqua), Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer (INSTM), Annexe La Goulette Port de Pêche, La Goulette 2060, Tunisia
Andrea Santulli
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare DiSTeM, Laboratorio di Biochimica Marina ed Ecotossicologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via G. Barlotta 4, 91100 Trapani, Italy
Aquaculture has been playing a leading role over the years to satisfy the global growing demand for seafood. Moreover, innovative techniques are necessary to increase the competitiveness, sustainability and profitability of the seafood production chain, exploiting new species from the aquaculture, such as meagre (Argyrosomus regius), to develop value-added products and diversify their production. In the present work, the effectiveness of cold smoking combined with antioxidants (SA) compared to cold smoking alone (S) on meagre fillets, the quality and shelf life were investigated. Sensory, biochemical, physical–chemical and microbiological analyses were performed on the smoked fillets during vacuum-packaged storage for 35 days at 4 ± 0.5 °C. The results showed positive effects of the SA treatment on the biochemical parameters of meagre fillets. The total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) in smoked meagre fillets was significantly lower in the SA treatment at the end of storage compared to the S treatment. Moreover, SA had a positive effect on lipid peroxidation. Lower values of malondialdehyde (mg MDA/kg) were observed in the SA treatment during preservation compared to the S treatment. This work will contribute to the growth of the fish production chain, producing a value-added fish product by exploiting meagre, whose production has been increasing over decades.