Volatile Organic Compounds and 16S Metabarcoding in Ice-Stored Red Seabream Pagrus major

The profiles of bacterial communities and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of farmed red seabream (Pagrus major) from two batches during ice storage were studied using 16S metabarcoding (culture independent approach) and headspace Solid Phase Micro-Extraction—Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) analysis, respectively. Sensory attributes and microbiological parameters were also evaluated. At Day 12 (shelf-life for both batches based on sensory evaluation), using classical microbiological analysis, Total Viable Counts (TVC) were found at the levels of 7–8 log cfu/g, and Pseudomonas and/or H₂S producing bacteria dominated. On the other hand, the culture independent 16S metabarcoding analysis showed that Psychrobacter were the most abundant bacteria in fish tissue from batch 1, while Pseudomonas and Psychrobacter (at lower abundance) were the most abundant in fish from batch 2. Differences were also observed in VOC profiles between the two batches. However, combining the VOC results of the two batches, 15 compounds were found to present a similar trend during fish storage. Of them, 2-methylbutanal, 3-methylbutanal, 3-methyl-1-butanol, ethanol, 2,4 octadiene (2 isomers), ethyl lactate, acetaldehyde and (E)-2-penten-1-ol could be used as potential spoilage markers of red seabream because they increased during storage, mainly due to Psychrobacter and/or Pseudomonas activity and/or chemical activity (e.g., oxidation). Additionally, VOCs such as propanoic acid, nonanoic acid, decanoic acid, 1-propanol, 3,4-hexanediol and hexane decreased gradually with time, so they could be proposed as freshness markers of red seabream. Such information will be used to develop intelligent approaches for the rapid evaluation of spoilage course in red seabream during ice storage.