Preservation status and microbial communities of vacuum-packed hot smoked rainbow trout fillets.

Vacuum-packed hot smoked rainbow trout fillets from two different smokehouses of Greece were stored at 2 and 7.9 °C. Microbiological, sensory, and physicochemical changes were monitored. Microbial communities grown on MRS of three different pHs (5.4, 6.4 and 7.4) were also classified and identified using Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Shelf-life was found to differ between products from the two smokehouses (A: 104 and 45 days, B: 100 and 45 days, at 2 and 7.9 °C, respectively). At the time point that sensory rejection was recorded, counts on MRS were found at higher population levels than the other microorganisms tested, almost in all cases. Out of the 567 colonies isolated from MRS of three different pHs, 71 classified as Enterococcus spp., 383 as Candida spp. and 113 as Lactobacillus spp.. Candida zeylanoides dominated exclusively in fillets from the smokehouse A during storage at 2 °C, while Lactobacillus sakei dominated clearly against C. zeylanoides at 7.9 °C, in all pH values. For the smokehouse B, C. zeylanoides or Enterococcus faecalis found to dominate initially in MRS of three pHs, C. zeylanoides, and/or Candida famata in the middle and/or the time point that sensory rejection was recorded at 2 °C, while Lactobacillus curvatus or E. faecalis at 7.9 °C. This study reveals the predominant cultivable spoilage microbiota of vacuum-packed hot smoked rainbow trout, and provides valuable information to the researcher and producers towards the production of more stable products with improved shelf-life.