Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in smoked Atlantic mackerel and Baltic sprats

Atlantic mackerel and Baltic sprats are rich sources of n − 3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA). Literature data point to an influence of the properties of the raw material, storage conditions, and processing parameters of hot- and cold-smoking on the stability of these acids. The effects of industrial smoking in an automatic smokehouse in controlled, mild conditions at core temperature below 60 °C, as well as of cold storage, on the fatty acids (FA) in mackerel and sprats have been investigated. The FA were determined by gas chromatography (GC) according to the AOCS Ce 1b-89 method, in lipids extracted from the meat of several batches of defrosted and smoked fish early after smoking and during storage at 2 °C for up to 2 weeks. The contents of eicosapentaenoic acid C20:5 n − 3 (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid C22:6 n − 3 (DHA) in different assortments of smoked mackerel meat were from 50 to 55 and from 67 to 100 mg/g of lipids, respectively while, in hot-smoked sprats, they were from 48 to 68 and from 73 to 128 mg/g of lipids. The results show that the variability of the FA composition of the frozen raw material was larger than the changes induced by smoking or by storage within the period of high quality life of the smoked product.