Quality improvement of the cured fish by replacing nitrite with chromogenic microorganisms: Insight into the effect on residual nitrosamine levels, color, and flavor characteristics

To achieve enhanced red color and improved safety of cured fish, the three nitrite-alternative strains, namely, Staphylococcus saprophyticus CICC 24365 (SS), Staphylococcus carnosus ATCC 51365 (SP), and Limosilactobacillus fermentum CICC 25124 (LF), were employed in this study. Furthermore, the hemoglobin in grass carp muscle was largely retained by directly removing the head of fish to increase heme levels in fish muscle. The results demonstrated that the nitroso-heme contents in the SS and SP groups were 7.40 and 6.53 mg/kg, respectively, which exhibited a comparable level to that observed in the nitrite group (8.70 mg/kg). Compared to the nitrite group, the nitrite levels in the SS and SP groups decreased by 91.70 % and 89.97 %, respectively, while there was a notable decrease of 70.33 % and 74.64 % in the total amount of nitrosamines. In addition, inoculation fermentation can effectively enhance the quality of cured fish by augmenting the levels of free amino acids and aromatic compounds.