Quality Attributes and Microbial Storage Stability of Caviar from Cultivated White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

Caviar was prepared from white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) roe by adjusting the water phase salt (WPS) to 4.0% to 6.3% by adding food grade NaCl. Fish were obtained from 2 different farms from the Inland Northwest (N=5). Salt was absorbed at a different rate and to a different extent by roe from different fish. The lipid content in the fish roe varied from 10.2% to 14.4% (w/w), with palmitic acid and oleic acid being the most abundant saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids present, respectively. The caviar contained high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (35% to 37%) with docosahexanoic acid being the most abundant omega-3 long chain fatty acid. There were no significant differences in microbial storage stability for caviars from different fish stored at 3 degrees C. However for caviar stored at 7 degrees C, there was less growth of Listeria monocytogenes (using a cocktail of ATCC 19114, 7644, 19113 strains) in 2 samples (2B46 and 0F05) until day 20. In 2 other samples (453F and 2519), which had lower initial microbial loads, less over all microbial growth was observed, indicating that culture and harvest practices result in compositional differences between fish, which may impact both product composition and storage stability.