1Food Research Institute, Toyama Prefectural Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Research Center, Yoshioka, Toyama 939-8153, 2Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Association of Nyuzen, Nyuzen, Toyama 939-0667, Japan
In the Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Association of Nyuzen, Toyama prefecture, F1-hybrid abalone has been cultivated in deep-sea water warmed to 17℃. The meat quality of the cultivated abalone fed with kelp (K-abalone), salted Wakame seaweed (S-abalone), or artificial diet (A-abalone) was evaluated with respect to moisture, breaking strength, free amino acids (FAA), ATP and its related compounds (ARC), and sensory evaluation. Moisture was low in A-abalone. Total amount of FAA was almost the same in each abalone, whereas glycine content was high in K-abalone. Moreover, four FAA, valine, leucine, phenylalanine and histidine, were significantly low in K-abalone. ARC composition was not affected by the diet. Sensory tests showed that S-abalone was soft, which was in accordance with the result of breaking strength. K-abalone was rich in sweetness, and it was suggested that the sweetness was affected by FAA composition. A-abalone was moderate in all attributes. Thus, these results demonstrated that the quality of abalone meat can be improved by the diet, and excellent products may be supplied in all seasons without seasonal variation.