BROMOPHENOL DISTRIBUTION IN SALMON AND SELECTED SEAFOODS OF FRESH-WATER AND SALTWATER ORIGIN

Analysis of saltwater Pacific salmon (Onchorynchus sp.) showed that sufficient concentrations of bromophenols were present in saltwater salmon to provide sea-, brine-, or iodine- like flavor notes, but the compounds were virtually absent in spawning run ocean and prime condition Great Lakes freshwater salmon. Octanol/water partition coefficients revealed that bromophenols would be readily absorbed by fish from the diet. Analysis of marine fish, crustaceans, and molluscs also revealed notable concentrations of bromophenols in all samples. Only sporadic, low concentrations of bromophenols were found in freshwater fish. The data support the hypothesis that simple bromophenols are widely distributed in marine species via the food chain.