Plant proteins and vegetable oil do not have detrimental effects on post-mortem muscle instrumental texture, sensory properties and nutritional value of gilthead seabream

A trial was undertaken to evaluate if the concomitant replacement of fishmeal and fish oil by vegetable ingredients affects fillet quality of gilthead seabream. Fish were fed either a fishmeal/fish oil diet, a fishmeal/vegetable oil diet, a plant protein/fish oil or a plant protein/vegetable oil diet over 70 days. Dietary treatments had no effect on the muscle proximate composition and free amino acid profile. The n − 3/n − 6 PUFA ratio in fillets was higher in seabream fed fish oil based diets. Fishmeal and fish oil replacement did not affect instrumental texture parameters, but fish fed plant protein-rich diets showed higher fibre density and lower mean fibre diameter. Dietary lipid sources had no effect on sensory attributes, while protein source affected significantly the perception of typical odour and colour (white) of the fillets and succulence in the mouth, with seabream fed plant protein-rich diets receiving the highest scores.

► Nutritional value of seabream is not affected by high inclusion of plant sources.
► FA profile of the muscle was slightly affected by the feeding with vegetable oils.
► Seabream fed vegetable-based diets were well accepted by sensory panel.