Shelf-life of vacuum packed Alaskan, Scottish and Norwegian cold-smoked salmon available on the Italian market

Fourteen vacuum packed cold smoked salmon products of different origin purchased in Italian retail were analysed at about half shelf-life (HSL) and at the expiry date (ED). On ED, eight on fourteen samples had concentration of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) indicating spoilage (values >40 mg N/100 g and up to 71.3 mg N/100 g) and only five samples were not rancid (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS <8 nmol/g). Total psychrotrophic count (TPC) at HSL was acceptable (<106 CFU/g) in most samples; at ED, in 13 samples, TPC was very high (range 1.2 × 10 6- 6.0 × 108 CFU/g) and Lactobacilli were the most representative bacteria. No pathogens were detected. Significant negative differences in declared weight (over 8%) were determined in nine samples. The two months shelf-life attributed to smoked salmon marketed in Italy proved to be, generally, too long and the consumer is at risk to buy a product in early stage of spoilage.