Effects of different salt concentrations and vacuum packaging on the shelf-stability of Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedti) stored at 4 °C

The effects of different salt concentrations and vacuum packaging on the quality and microbiota dynamics of Russian sturgeon fillets stored at 4 degrees C were evaluated over a 12-day storage in this study. During refrigerated storage, The combination of 6% (w/v) brine salting for 2 h and vacuum packaging exerted beneficial effects on the quality of Russian sturgeon fillets, as demonstrated by affecting the sensory acceptability, retarding the production of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), delaying lipid oxidation measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value. Meanwhile, the morphological changes in the muscle at different salt concentrations were observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Based on total viable counts (TVC), there was a lag phase of 3 days for the shelf life of 6% salting samples and vacuum packaging samples compared with the control. Moreover, the microbiota variability in different groups was investigated. The combination of 6% salting and vacuum packaging could effectively delay the growth of Pseudomonas which was the predominant microbiota in Russian sturgeon fillets during the final period of storage. The results indicated that 6% salting combined with vacuum packaging extended the shelf-life of Russian sturgeon fillets during storage, which was mainly due to their inhibition on dominant spoilage bacteria.