Physicochemical and microbial changes during storage of smoke-flavoured salmon obtained by a new method

• A new smoking-salting method for salmon using water vapour permeable bags was used.
• Quality changes during storage of the salmon obtained by this method were studied.
• The shelf life of the smoke-flavoured salmon was over 40 days.
• This new method enables smoke-flavoured salmon to be produced to a good quality.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a new smoking-salting method employing water vapour permeable (WP) bags on the physicochemical and microbial quality of smoke-flavoured salmon in refrigerated storage. Fresh salmon was subjected to a smoking process in the WP at 5 °C. Physicochemical and microbiological analyses were periodically carried out during the subsequent 40 days of refrigerated storage of the product. The WP bags enabled the evaporation of the exudate during the smoking-salting stage, enabling the drying of the product to take place at the same time. A slight increase of trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) contents was observed over the storage period. The concentration of TVB-N ranged from 14.26 to 21.48 mg N/100 g of fish, values far below the upper limits of acceptability. The low values of the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) index (final level of 0.71 mg MDA/kg) indicate that the lipid oxidation in the smoke-flavoured salmon was limited throughout the period studied. The initial K1-value was high and only a slight increase was observed during storage. Counts of mesophilic, psychrotrophic, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria were low throughout the study. Given the changes observed for the physicochemical and microbiological parameters, it can be said that no spoilage took place in the smoke-flavoured salmon during the 40 days of storage. This new method could be of interest to producers as it enables smoke-flavoured salmon to be produced to a good standard of hygiene, minimizing handling and reducing processing steps and brine wastes.