Research Article
Microbial Load of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Treated with Natural Additives during Refrigerated Storage
Abstract
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a commercially important aquaculture species widely produced and consumed in Türkiye and exported to international markets; however, due to its high water activity and rich nutrient composition, it is highly susceptible to microbial spoilage. Maintaining product quality throughout the cold chain from production to consumption is therefore critical for preventing food waste and reducing economic losses. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of natural additives in delaying microbial growth in rainbow trout fillets during refrigerated storage. In this study, trout fillets were treated with solutions containing shalgam juice, red wine, soy sauce, pomegranate molasses, ginger, wasabi, or turmeric. Liquid additives were prepared at a 1:2 (additive:water) ratio, while solid additives were prepared at a concentration of 4%. Fish samples were individually immersed in these solutions (fish:solution = 1:2) for 20 min and subsequently stored under refrigerated conditions (4 ± 1 °C). Throughout storage, mesophilic aerobic bacterial counts in the control group were significantly higher than those in all treated groups (p < 0.05). Among the applied treatments, soy sauce was the most effective in suppressing mesophilic and psychrotrophic aerobic bacterial growth, particularly at the advanced stages of storage, followed by wasabi (p < 0.05). On the fourth day of refrigerated storage, psychrotrophic aerobic bacterial counts exceeded 6 log CFU/g in all other groups, whereas this increase was significantly limited in samples treated with soy sauce and wasabi (p < 0.05). These findings demonstrate that the use of natural additives, particularly soy sauce and wasabi, can improve the microbial quality of rainbow trout fillets, thereby contributing to the maintenance of product safety and quality throughout the cold chain and offering significant potential for reducing food waste and economic losses.
References
- TÜİK, Su Ürünleri 2024, Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, Ankara, Türkiye, 2025, Bülten no. 54193. [Online]. Available: https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Su-Urunleri-2024-54193&dil=1. [Accessed: Jun. 12, 2025].
- A. Vijayan, G. K. Sivaraman, S. Visnuvinayagam, and M. P. Mothadaka, “Role of natural additives on quality and shelf life extension of fish and fishery products,” Nat. Food Addit., vol. 77, pp. 99–104, 2022.
- N. Oulahal and P. Degraeve, “Phenolic-rich plant extracts with antimicrobial activity: An alternative to food preservatives and biocides?” Front. Microbiol., vol. 12, Art. no. 753518, 2022.
- S. Kataoka, “Functional effects of Japanese style fermented soy sauce (shoyu) and its components,” J. Biosci. Bioeng., vol. 100, no. 3, pp. 227–234, 2005, doi: 10.1263/jbb.100.227.
- N. Erbil and M. N. Arslan, “Geleneksel yöntemlerle üretilen nar ekşisinin antibakteriyel ve antimutajenik etki potansiyeli,” Erzincan Üniv. Fen Bilim. Enst. Derg., vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 957–965, 2019, doi: 10.18185/erzifbed.523767.
- S. Ebrahimi, H. Jalali, and S. H. Ziaolhagh, “Evaluating the antimicrobial effects of turmeric, ginger and clove extracts on some food pathogens,” MOJ Food Process. Technol., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 21–24, 2023.
- K. Dos Santos Szewczyk et al., “Chemical composition of extracts from leaves, stems and roots of wasabi (Eutrema japonicum) and their anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities,” Sci. Rep., vol. 13, Art. no. 9142, 2023, doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-36402-y.
- M. Daglia, “Polyphenols as antimicrobial agents,” Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 174–181, 2012.
- H. Erten and H. Tangüler, “Şalgam suyu: Üretim tekniği ve mikrobiyolojik özellikleri,” Gıda / J. Food, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 407–414, 2010.
- J. Baumgart, “Mikrobiologische Untersuchung von Lebensmitteln,” in Lebensmittel tierischer Herkunft, J. Baumgart, J. Firnhaber, and G. Spicher, Eds. Hamburg, Germany: Behr’s Verlag, 1986, pp. 3–207.
- S. Mol, N. Erkan, D. Ucok, and Ş. Y. Tosun, “Effect of psychrophilic bacteria to estimate fish quality,” J. Muscle Foods, vol. 18, pp. 120–128, 2007.
- H. Moon and M. S. Rhee, “Synergism between carvacrol or thymol increases the antimicrobial efficacy of soy sauce with no sensory impact,” Int. J. Food Microbiol., vol. 217, pp. 35–41, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.10.009.
- J. A. Jang, H. A. Kim, and S. K. Choi, “Quality characteristics of fish cake made with silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) with added wasabi powder,” J. East Asian Soc. Diet. Life, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 103–112, 2010.
- S. Kakhorova and O. Ibragimov, “Benefits and harm of turnip for the organism, properties, choice rules,” Am. J. Agric. Hortic. Innov., vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 15–18, 2025.
- A. Radovanović, B. Radovanović, and B. Jovančićević, “Free radical scavenging and antibacterial activities of southern Serbian red wines,” Food Chem., vol. 117, no. 2, pp. 326–331, 2009.
- C. Kargiotou, E. Katsanidis, J. Rhoades, M. Kontominas, and K. Koutsoumanis, “Efficacies of soy sauce and wine-based marinades for controlling spoilage of raw beef,” Food Microbiol., vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 158–163, 2011, doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2010.09.013.
- H. S. Bekeir, A. Hamad, N. Z. Eleiwa, and R. A. Amin, “Effect of pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruit molasses as a natural marinade on the microbiological quality and shelf life of refrigerated chicken fillet,” Meat Technol., vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 93–102, 2024, doi: 10.18485/meattech.2024.65.2.3.
- G. Nasser, A. Sabbah, N. Chokeir, A. Hijazi, H. Rammal, and M. Issa, “Chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of Lebanese pomegranate molasses,” J. Pharm. Tech. Res., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 33–41, 2017.
- M. C. Iheagwara, “Effect of ginger extract on stability and sensorial quality of smoked mackerel (Scomber scombrus) fish,” J. Nutr. Food Sci., vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 1–5, 2013.
- S. Nath, P. Chatterjee, S. Chowdhury, N. Ray, and S. Mukherjee, “Antimicrobial activity of turmeric (Curcuma longa) extract and its potential use in fish preservation,” Indian J. Anim. Health, vol. 60, no. 2 (Spl.), pp. 109–118, 2021, doi: 10.36062/ijah.2021.spl.02121.
- M. Mugahi, A. Aberoumand, and S. Ziaei-Nejad, “Effects of turmeric, cinnamon, and lemon extracts on shelf life, nutrients, and preservation of carp fish in cold storage,” J. Food Qual., Art. no. 3502464, pp. 1–14, 2022, doi: 10.1155/2022/3502464.
There are 21 citations in total.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Submission Date | December 30, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | February 18, 2026 |
| Early Pub Date | March 14, 2026 |
| Publication Date | March 14, 2026 |
| IZ | https://izlik.org/JA82TY88CW |
| Published in Issue | Year 2026 Issue: Advanced Online Publication |
Aim & Scope
Food Science Insights aims to provide a premier global platform for publishing cutting-edge research, innovations, and critical reviews across all domains of food science and technology. The journal covers the entire food value chain—from raw materials to consumer health—highlighting fundamental principles, transformative technologies, and interdisciplinary approaches to advance food safety, quality, nutrition, and sustainability.
The journal welcomes original research, comprehensive reviews, short communications, and forward-looking perspectives. Key areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
1. Food Chemistry & Analysis
• Molecular composition, interactions, and functional properties of food components.
• Advanced analytical methods (spectroscopy, chromatography, omics) for food authentication and quality control.
2. Food Safety & Preservation
• Novel strategies for pathogen control, shelf-life extension, and intelligent packaging.
• Risk assessment, mitigation of contaminants, and predictive modeling for foodborne hazards.
3. Food Processing & Engineering
• Sustainable processing technologies (e.g., non-thermal, precision fermentation, 3D printing).
• Engineering solutions for resource efficiency, waste reduction, and circular economy integration.
4. Nutrition, Health & Sensory Science
• Bioactive compounds, nutraceuticals, and diet-disease relationships.
• Sensory perception, consumer behavior, and personalized nutrition approaches.
5. Sustainable Food Systems & Security
• Alternative proteins (plant-based, cellular agriculture), upcycled ingredients, and ethical sourcing.
• Climate-resilient agriculture, supply chain innovations, and food policy implications.
6. Emerging Technologies & Digitalization
• AI-driven food design, smart sensors, blockchain traceability, and digital twins.
• Bioinformatics, computational modeling, and automation in food production.
Food Science Insights encourages contributions that transcend traditional boundaries, integrating fields such as biotechnology, data science, environmental engineering, and social sciences. We prioritize research with tangible impact—addressing global challenges like malnutrition, food waste, and equitable access—while fostering sustainable, scalable innovations for future food systems.
Author Guidelines
Academic impartiality and scientific quality are important criteria in the evaluation of articles submitted for publication. Therefore, the recommendations of the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) and the International Standards for Editors and Authors of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) should be taken into account in scientific articles submitted to the Food Science Insights.
General Information
Food Science Insights is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality articles in the field of food.
Food Science Insights is published twice a year, in April and October.
The language of the articles is English.
The percentage of similarity in articles should be less than 25% without a bibliography.
Article applications are not accepted via e-mail.
The referee process is not initiated for articles that do not comply with the writing rules of the journal, without footnotes, bibliography, preface, or abstract. The Editorial Board may take a decision for special cases.
Manuscripts to be published must be sent via the “Submit Article” page.
Templates
Template of the manuscript can be downloaded from the following link:
Copyright form of the manuscript can be downloaded from the following link:
Note: If any editor sends an article to the Food Science Insights, the editor's access to the editorial panel is prevented. The editor follows all processes as a writer. After the process is completed, the editorial authority is given to him again.
Preparation of Manuscript
Author(s) should use these specific styles for each part (for example title, abstract, keyword etc.) of the manuscript. The detailed information about these styles can be found in the template file.
There is not any page limit in UMP. As a guideline: experimental manuscripts should not be longer than 25 double-spaced typed pages and 7 figures + tables; for theoretical manuscripts a maximum of 30 pages and 10 figures + tables is suggested.
The language of the journal is English. Any other languages are not accepted for publication.
Author(s) should provide English versions of the title, abstract and keywords.
Abstract section of the manuscript should be between 100 and 350 words.
Paragraphs should not start with indentation.
The full name(s) of the author(s) should be given. In addition the e-mail address(es), affiliation(s), and ORCID's of all author’s should be provided. The telephone number of the corresponding author should be written.
Keywords should start with a bold “Keywords” title and should not exceed six keywords. Each keyword should be separated with comma symbol.
Required files to be uploaded when submitting an article:
1- WORD document of the article prepared considering the writing rules (There should be no information belonging to the authors. This file will be sent to the referees in accordance with the double-blind refereeing policy.) (Sample article file)
2- The first page of the article WORD document prepared by considering the spelling rules (Author(s) information, name, surname, Orcid(s), responsible author, e-mail(s) must be found.) (Title Page)
Non-essential files that must be uploaded when submitting an article:
1- It is recommended that a plagiarism report be uploaded to the system.
2- If necessary for the study, the approved version of the Ethics Committee Permit must be uploaded to the system. In addition, this approval (name, date and number of the committee) must be stated in the "Article Information Form" at the end of the study.
The citations should be given in IEEE Style. Authors can get help from citation management applications/tools when preparing their papers. The title of the citations section should be “References”.
In text citations should be written in square brackets like [1], [3-5] etc.
Equations should be aligned centered. Equation number should be written inside parenthesis and placed to the right side of the equation, aligned right in the page. Equations should be cited with their full name like “As seen in Equation 1” or like “As seen in Equations 3 and 4”.
Tables should be centered in the page. Table number and caption should be written above the table. Tables should be cited with their full name like “As seen in Table 1” or like “As seen in Tables 3 and 4”.
Figures should be centered in the page. Figure number and caption should be written below the figure. They should be cited with their full name like “As seen in Figure 1” or like “As seen in Figures 3 and 4”.
The following examples are taken from the guideline “IEEE Reference Guide” by IEEE Periodicals Transactions/Journals Department 445 Hoes Lane Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA. The detailed guide is given in here.
Book
Basic Format:
J. K. Author, “Title of chapter in the book,” in Title of His Published Book, xth ed. City of Publisher, (only U.S. State), Country: Abbrev. of Publisher, year, ch. x, sec. x, pp. xxx–xxx.
Examples:
B. Klaus and P. Horn, Robot Vision. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 1986.
L. Stein, “Random patterns,” in Computers and You, J. S. Brake, Ed. New York, NY, USA: Wiley, 1994, pp. 55–70.
The Terahertz Wave eBook. ZOmega Terahertz Corp., 2014. [Online]. Available: http://dl.z-thz.com/eBook/zomega_ebook_pdf_1206_sr.pdf. Accessed: May 19, 2014.
Conference Paper (Paper Presented at a Conference)
Basic Format:
J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” presented at the Abbreviated Name of Conf., City of Conf., Abbrev. State, Country, Month and day(s), year, Paper number.
Examples:
D. Caratelli, M. C. Viganó, G. Toso, and P. Angeletti, “Analytical placement technique for sparse arrays,” presented at the 32nd ESA Antenna Workshop, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, Oct. 5–8, 2010.
J. G. Kreifeldt, “An analysis of surface-detected EMG as an amplitude-modulated noise,” presented at the 1989Int. Conf. Medicine and Biological Engineering, Chicago, IL, USA, Nov. 9–12, 1989.
G. Veruggio, “The EURON roboethics roadmap,” in Proc. Humanoids ’06: 6th IEEE-RAS Int. Conf. Humanoid Robots, 2006, pp. 612–617, doi: 10.1109/ICHR.2006.321337.
Conference Proceedings With Series Title, Volume Title, and Edition
Basic Format:
J. K. Author, “Title of paper,” in Abbreviated Name of Conf. in Volume Title, in Series Title, ed., year, pp. xxxxxx.
Example:
A. Amador-Perez and R. A. Rodriguez-Solis, “Analysis of a CPW-fed annular slot ring antenna using DOE,” in Proc. IEEE Antennas Propag. Soc. Int. Symp., in Slot Ring Antennas II, vol. 3, 2nd ed., Jul. 2006, pp. 4301–4304.
Datasets
Basic Format:
Author, “Title.” (Date, Year). Distributed by Publisher/Distributor. http://url.com (or if DOI is used, end with a period)
Example:
S. Ansolabehere, M. Palmer, and A. Lee. “Precinct-level election data. V1.” January 20, 2014. Distributed by Harvard Election Data Archive. http://hdl.handle.net/1902.1/21919 UNF:5:5C9UfGjdLy2ONVPtgr45qA==
Manuals/Software
Basic Format:
J. K. Author (or Abbrev. Name of Co., City of Co. Abbrev. State, Country). Name of Manual/Handbook, x ed. (year). Accessed: Date. [Online]. Available: http://www.url.com
Examples:
L. Breimann. Manual on Setting Up, Using, and Understanding Random Forests v4.0. (2003). Accessed: Apr. 16, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://oz.berkeley.edu/users/breiman/Using_random_forests_v4.0.pdf
Periodicals (scholarly or peer-reviewed journals, popular magazines, trade journals and newspapers)
Basic Format:
J. K. Author, “Name of paper,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx-xxx, Abbrev. Month, year.
J. K. Author, “Name of paper,” Abbrev. Title of Periodical, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx-xxx, Abbrev. Month, year, doi: xxx.
Examples:
M. M. Chiampi and L. L. Zilberti, “Induction of electric field in human bodies moving near MRI: An efficient BEM computational procedure,” IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., vol. 58, pp. 2787–2793, Oct. 2011, doi: 10.1109/TBME.2011.2158315.
J. Zhang and N. Tansu, “Optical gain and laser characteristics of InGaN quantum wells on ternary InGaN substrates,” IEEE Photon. J., vol. 5, no. 2, Apr. 2013, Art no. 2600111.
M. M. Chiampi and L. L. Zilberti, “Induction of electric field in human bodies moving near MRI: An efficient BEM computational procedure,” IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., vol. 58, no. 10, pp. 2787–2793, Oct. 2011, doi: 10.1109/TBME.2011.2158315.
After eight and more authors, “et al.” should be used after the first author’s name. Otherwise, the names of all authors should be expressed.
M. Ito et al., “Application of amorphous oxide TFT to electrophoretic display,” J. Non-Cryst. Solids, vol. 354, no. 19, pp. 2777–2782, Feb. 2008. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/journal-file/36568
Ethical Principles and Publication Policy
Food Science Insights aims to enhance knowledge sharing in a respectful and unbiased manner, significantly improving research quality. We emphasize the importance of peer-reviewed studies in the scientific method and encourage all participants—authors, readers, researchers, publishers, reviewers, and editors—to uphold ethical principles as outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). By publishing in a peer-reviewed journal, we contribute to a respected knowledge network and promote a shared understanding of ethical standards in our field.
Price Policy
Food Science Insights (FSI) does not request fees for article submission, reviewing and editing processes, page layout, or publication (page or color fees).
FSI does not pay any fees to authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members.
All papers on FSI are free to read and download.
FSI signed on to the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), which promotes free access to research literature and has adopted the Open Access Principles clarified in this initiative.
FSI is an open-access journal that does not require any subscription fees.
We do not offer a reprint service for those requiring professional-quality paper reproductions.s
Due to its publication policy, FSI does not accept announcements, advertisements, sponsorships, etc..
Journal Boards
Chief Editor
Food Engineering, Fermentation Technology, Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Food Safety, Traceability, Certification and Authenticity, Food Microbiology, Food Sciences (Other)
Assistant Editor
Food Sciences, Fermentation Technology
Editorial Board
Food Sciences, Food Biotechnology, Food Microbiology
Food Sciences, Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Fisheries Technologies
Food Properties, Food Sciences, Meat Technology, Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Food Technology