June 28, 2006

Research shows crab feed produces better tasting cod

Norwegian researchers has found that crab feed gives farmed cod a better taste, according to the Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Fiskeriforskning.

Crab meat is one of the favorite foods of wild cod.

Researchers are testing various types of cod feed by mixing different types and quantities of vegetable and marine raw materials to find out the effects on the quality and taste of the fish.

As cod are known to take on a "green" taste from vegetable ingredients in the feed, scientists used aquaculture feed made from lupine meal, (pea-based meal) in their taste test.

Fishmeal in the feed was replaced with different quantities of lupine meal, and both lupine meal and powder from ground crab were added to one of the feeds before it was fed to the farmed cod.

The fish was fed for 16 weeks before being tested.

While the cod that received feed with added crab powder both tasted and smelled better than ordinary cod, the cod fed on lupine meal was said to have a peculiar smell described as burnt, scorched and sweet.

It seems that the crab powder masked this smell and that the natural cod taste and smell were enhanced in the farmed cod that was fed crab, says Senior Scientist Sissel Albrektsen.

The study is part of the efforts at Fiskeriforskning's department in Bergen to find new marine raw materials for use in feed for the aquaculture industry.