Effect of moist or dry heat cooking procedures on carotenoid retention and colour of fillets of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed astaxanthin or canthaxanthin

Rainbow trout were pigmented with diets containing astaxanthin or canthaxanthin for 100 days, and then they were moist or dry heat-cooked. Fish fillet weight, fillet colour, and fillet biochemical contents (moisture, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin contents, and total lipid content) were analyzed. There was no significant effect of using astaxanthin or canthaxanthin on moisture, lipid or carotenoid contents of fish fillet. Giving astaxanthin or canthaxanthin to fish resulted in different hues; astaxanthin-fed fish yielded fillets that were visually more red than those of canthaxanthin-fed fish. The dry heat-cooking procedure showed the highest impact on the fillet colour. Carotenoid retention was affected by carotenoid source and cooking procedure. Canthaxanthin appeared more stable after heat processing than did astaxanthin.