The active kappa-carrageenan coating and oxygen absorber packaging for the preservation of chilled rainbow trout fillets.

The objective of the current research was to evaluate the effects of incorporating kappa-carrageenan (KCA) coating with dill essential oil (DEO), in conjunction with oxygen absorber (OA) packaging, on the quality attributes of rainbow trout fillets throughout a 20-day period of refrigerated storage. The administered treatments included OA, KCA + OA, KCA + DEO, KCA + DEO + OA, and control. Treating the trout fillets with DEO-loaded coating and/or using OA packaging was found to be more effective in restricting the growth of total mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and lactic acid bacteria. The aforementioned treatments were more efficient in slowing down the rate of increase in pH, total volatile nitrogen, conjugated dienes, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, protein carbonyls, electric conductivity, and organoleptic deterioration in the trout fillets. Notably, the most effective treatment in this context was KCA + DEO + OA. The shelf-life of trout fillets was established through the assessment of multiple parameters. It was determined to be 4 days in both the control and KCA groups, 8 days in the OA and KCA + OA groups, 16 days in the KCA + DEO group, and a minimum of 20 days in the KCA + DEO + OA group. Consequently, our recommendation is to apply an active coating based on KCA, incorporating DEO in conjunction with OA packaging, for the preservation of fish fillets stored in refrigeration.