Effect of the farming site and harvest time on the nutritional, elemental and volatile profile of mussels: A comprehensive analysis of the PDO 'Cozza di Scardovari'.

This study comprehensively characterised a protected designation of origin mussel 'Cozza di Scardovari' (Mytilus galloprovincialis) by examining how it is affected by the farming site (outer vs. inner area of the lagoon) and harvest time (21 April vs. 18 May vs. 16 June). Harvest time affected the marketable traits and fatty acid profile of mussels, whereas farming site scarcely affected marketable traits and mussel yields. Mussels from the inner area of the lagoon displayed a superior nutritional profile, including higher contents of proteins (7.8% vs. 7.4%; P < 0.05), lipids (1.2% vs. 1.0%; P < 0.001) and essential amino acids such as tryptophan (+24%; P < 0.05) and valine (+8%; P < 0.05), with a more favourable n-3/n-6 ratio (7.7 vs. 7.0; P < 0.001) than those from the close-to-sea area. Volatile organic compounds, mainly octanoic acid, dimethyl sulphide and 1-penten-3-ol, differed between farming sites within the same lagoon.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)