Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) fed with polar lipids from olive oil industry by-products: Shelf-life, microbiological and physicochemical characteristics during storage at 2 °C

The fish industry is now attempting to produce value-added fishery products with potential functional properties for consumers using agro-food by-products as healthy ingredients in aquafeed. Herein, microbial communities, microbial populations, sensory attributes and physicochemical e.g., Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVB-N) and Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) profile of fillets from gilthead seabream ( Sparus aurata ) previously fed with a fraction of polar lipids extracted from olive-oil industry by-products (enriched fish, hereafter) were examined during storage at 2 o C and compared with conventional sea bream fillets, in order to monitor quality changes and assess shelf-life. The end of the shelf-life was determined at 7 and 9 days of storage for the enriched and the conventional fillets, respectively. Results indicated no significant differences in any of the studied parameters between the enriched and conventional fish fillets. Based on the 16S metabarcoding analysis, Pseudomonas was the most dominant microorganism in both conventional and enriched fillets at the rejection time. TVB-N reached levels of ~23.5 mg N / 100 g in both cases. Overall, the findings of the present work enhance the production of such fishery products, opening a new era in aquaculture industry that undoubtedly deserves further attention in the future. • enriched seabream fed with lipids from olive-oil industry by-products • microbiota profile of conventional and enriched fish fillets • both fish exhibited similar microbiological and physicochemical changes