Comparison of fillet composition and initial estimation of shelf life of cobia (<i>Rachycentron canadum</i>) fed raw fish or fish silage moist diets

Abstract

Cobia, Rachycentron canadum (500 g) cultured in pond cages for a 3-month experiment were fed two moist diets based on raw fish with or without added fish silage. No significant differences in nutritional composition were observed between the fillet groups, which were of high quality with a balance of essential and non-essential amino acids (EAA/NEAA = 1) and medium levels of omega-3 fatty acid composition (210 g kg−1 total fatty acids). The total quality index method and quantitative descriptive analysis from both groups were correlated throughout storage (r2 = 0.83–0.86). After 15 days iced storage, the scores of most attributes were low compared to maximum accepted values. The thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and microbial counts were also below the accepted limits after the storage trial. It might be concluded that the nutritional composition and the fillet quality were similar for the groups fed raw fish with or without added fish silage, and the estimated shelf life for cobia was >15 days.