The current study aimed to explore the effects of mild processing for shelf-life extension on the raw an-d cooked quality of gilthead seabream fillets stored at 2 °C. Control and Treated (via osmotic dehydration) fillets were sampled at the beginning (D1), middle (D5) and end (D7) of commercial shelf life. The raw quality was evaluated via the quality index method (QIM), microbial measurements and for D1 through tetrad discrimination testing. The cooked quality was evaluated for the same samples via sensory descriptive analyses with a trained panel. The tetrad results indicated similar characteristics between treatments for raw fillets on D1 and a 29% shelf-life extension for Treated fillets vs. the Control ones, defined by Quality Index Method and microbial measurements. The raw quality was reflected in the cooked quality of the tissue, with the Treated fillets exhibiting less intense spoilage-related sensory attributes as well as enhanced or retained freshness-related attributes throughout storage, when compared to the Control ones. A range of treatment induced sensory characteristics, partly associated to Maillard reactions, were developed in the Treated fillets. Overall, the treatment affected positively both the raw and cooked quality of the fillet, showing promising results as a shelf-life extension method for fish fillet preservation.

The present study aimed to formulate sucrose‐replaced samples with natural or synthetic sweeteners, and to benchmark the temporal sensory profile of sucrose‐replaced samples to a control sample (100% sucrose). Acesulfame‐K, aspartame, erythritol, rebaudioside M, and sucralose replaced sucrose at four different levels (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) in aqueous solutions. A trained sensory panel evaluated the samples with temporal check‐all‐that‐apply. The sweeteners showed great individual differences in their ability to replace sucrose. Except for aspartame, the 25% sucrose replacement across all sweeteners was not significantly different from the control. Aspartame, erythritol, and sucralose showed no difference from sucrose for the 50% and 75% sucrose‐replaced samples. In contrast, a replacement of above 25% sucrose with acesulfame‐K and rebaudioside M resulted in significant variations in the aftertaste period resulting in bitter off‐taste and licorice off‐flavor, respectively, compared to the control. Conclusively, synthetic and natural sweeteners were able to partially replace sucrose without altering the temporal sensory profile. Practical Applications This study showed high variability of achievable sucrose replacement suggesting that the choice of sweetener is crucial for a successful replacement. Blends of sucralose or erythritol with sucrose was most suitable to mimic the sensory profile of sucrose. This can be applied by the food industry in the innovation of low energy food and beverage products with comparable sensory profiles to the sucrose counterparts.