Quality of raw and smoked fillets from clinically healthy Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., following an outbreak of pancreas disease ( PD)

• Published in: Journal of Fish Diseases
• Main Authors: Taksdal, T, Wiik‐Nielsen, J, Birkeland, S, Dalgaard, P, Mørkøre, T
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2012
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2761.2012.01428.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2761.2012.01428.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2761.2012.01428.x

Abstract Pancreas disease ( PD ) is a viral disease of farmed salmonid fish, which causes huge economic losses. Pathological changes in skeletal muscle, pancreas and heart are hallmarks of PD . Stakeholders in the fish‐smoking industry have claimed that fillets from PD ‐affected Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., are of poor quality. We therefore examined harvest‐ready, clinically healthy Atlantic salmon from a population of fish previously affected by PD . Histopathological changes in skeletal muscle tissues ranged from minor to severe. Fillet quality measurements showed that fish with severe skeletal muscle changes provided a paler raw fillet and a yellowish and harder cold‐smoked fillet than normal. PD had no significant effect on fillet gaping, bacteriological quality or off‐odour development during storage. An unexpected finding was a significant subendocardial fibrosis in 23% of the PD ‐affected fish. The latter may indicate susceptibility to stress‐related heart failure.