Diversification de la production de l’aquaculture sicilienne à travers la production de filets de maigre (Argyrosmus regius) fumés: de la caractérisation nutritionnelle au consumer test.

Within the Work-package 5 «Valorisation de l'image des produits aquacoles», activity 5.3 «Innovation en vue de valoriser les produits aquacoles», a cold smoking protocol was applied on meagre, Argyrosomus regius fillets, an emerging species for Sicilian aquaculture. Nutritional characterization and consumer tests were conducted on three different scales (laboratory, restaurant, seafood exhibition), in order to record the level of consumers’ satisfaction towards this new product. The results obtained indicate that the applied cold smoking protocol yielded a product with nutritional value comparable to fresh fillets. The low level of lipids and the high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega-3 (n-3 PUFAs) represent distinctive elements of species quality. This information should be reported on the label, to allow outlining positive features of the product. The data show that A. regius is a species that is well adapted to the transformation process such as cold-smoking, which is an excellent strategy to diversify Sicilian, and to a larger extend the Mediterranean aquaculture products.