Mullet bottarga

The Mullet bottarga it is among the least famous and equally distinctive fish products of Italian regional culture. It is obtained from the ovaries of the mullet or mullet (Mugil cephalus), salted, pressed and dried. The method described in both sheets of Traditional Agri-Food Products of Sardinia e Tuscany it is now also taken up in productions on the Po Delta, in Emilia-Romagna.

2026 adds a new element: the FAO technical manual on mullet breeding, drawn up with the IMC Foundation of Oristano (Vallainc et al., 2026), paves the way for a programmable supply chain, with seed produced in the hatchery rather than taken from the wild. For international buyers, knowing the origin of the raw material, labeling rules, nutritional profile and reference prices is the prerequisite for purchasing with knowledge.

What is mullet bottarga?

The ingredients of the bottarga there are two, ovaries of mullet (or mullet) and sea ​​salt. The ovarian sacs are extracted immediately after fishing without breaking the membrane, cleaned of blood vessels, arranged in layers with medium-fine grain sea salt on wooden surfaces, pressed to drain the brine and finally seasoned with natural or controlled ventilation, with periodic turning. In fish weighing 1-2 kg the ovaries weigh approximately 200-500 g (Sardinia Region, n.d.). The finished product has shape rectangular, consistency compact and color amber, from light to dark.

The processing concentrates the nutrientsA study by the University of Cagliari followed the processing of mullet ovaries caught in the Tortolì lagoon: moisture drops to 25% and pH to 5.46, while in dry weight bottarga contains 56% protein34% fat and 3.6% sodium chloride (Caredda et al., 2018). A second study, also Sardinian, measured the transition from fresh ovary to aged product: moisture from 50.7% to 24.8%, total lipids from 2.46 to 7.46 g/100 g (Corrias et al., 2020). The weight loss during processing, between 40 and 50% according to technical data sheets, is one of the structural reasons for the price high.

An ancient procedure, an Arabic name

The official sheets of Traditional Agri-food Products attribute to the Phoenicians the spread of mullet egg salting and to the Arabs the spread of the product in the Mediterranean with the name battarikh, salted fish eggs, from which the Italian ‘bottarga’ (Tuscany Region, n.d.; Sardinia Region, n.d.).

The Tuscan sheet also documents a six-century continuity in the Orbetello lagoon, where in the Middle Ages the buttagre were paid as compensation for the rights to exploit the waters.

The only mullet bottarga with a registered designation in the European Union today is theAvgotaracho Messolongiou PDO, produced in Greece in the Missolonghi lagoons, and is also different from the Italian one as it is coated with beeswax.

Places of production in Italy

The Sardinia It is the productive heart. The regional sheet admits the geographical mention 'from Sardinia' or 'Sardinian' for the product obtained on the island (Region Sardinia, n.d.). The historic centers are the Cabras pond, in Oristano, and the lagoons of Tortolì, Sant’Antioco, and Marceddì. In Cabras, on November 22, 2022, the Chamber of Commerce of Cagliari and Oristano organized the first international bottarga stock market: twelve sole strips from 328 to 514 g, starting price 250 €/kg according to the consortium price list, awards up to about 600 €/kg (ANSA, 2022;Il Sole 24 Ore, 2022).

The Tuscany has its second hub in the Orbetello lagoon. The Orbetello mullet bottarga, regional PAT, is aged for about two weeks which makes it softer than the others, it is produced from August to October and marketed vacuum-packed in sizes from 150 to 400 g (Tuscany Region, s.d.).

The Po Delta This is the hub under construction. In September 2025, the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences of the University of Bologna presented a project to produce bottarga from mullets of the Emilia-Romagna valleys, using salt from Cervia and the Comacchio valleys. The scientific manager, Oliviero Mordenti, noted that many Italian companies work with imported roe, mainly from North Africa, and that the valley mullet, fed on crustaceans and blue fish present in the basin, has its own sensory characteristics; the pricesindicated range from 100-130 €/kg for industrial baffe to over 200 €/kg for the product processed with traditional methods (RavennaNotizie, 2025).

Sardinia, IGP objective

In September 2022, the Sardinia Region had instead announced the intention to accelerate towards a IGP of Sardinian bottarga, with the aim of differentiating regional production from that obtained with foreign raw materials (ANSA, 2022a, 2022b). In November 2022, after the first International Market Report of Cabras bottarga, fishermen and some producers in turn had confirmed this objective (Il Sole 24 Ore, 2022).

in 2025, the Regional Agency for Agricultural Research (AGRIS) and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Service of the Sardinia Region launched the project 'Multidisciplinary characterisation of Sardinian Bottarga', funded under EMFAF (European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund) (AGRIS Sardinia, 2025).

In May 2025, the Slow Food Presidia of grey mullet bottarga and traditional fishing in the Cabras pond, with the aim of enhancing and distinguishing the product made with local raw materials from that obtained from imported raw materials (ANSA, 2025; L’Unione Sarda, 2025).

The risk is clearly to restrict the scope of the Protected Geographical Indication to only ‘100% Made in Sardinia’ products, whose production volumes are entirely marginal—as shown by the figures from the first Cabras market report, in the order of a few kilograms of product—with a productive potential limited by natural factors. Whereas instead the production of Sardinian bottarga, with only raw materials available on the market (mainly foreign), responds to an international demand that brings a different order of value and employment on the island.

Customs rules, labeling and authentication

Bottarga is classified in customs among the substitutes for caviar, subheading NC 1604 32 00, as confirmed in Italy by the Customs and Monopolies Agency with a note dated February 1, 2018. Therefore it does not fall under the products subject tothe obligation to provide the information required by the CFP, such as capture zone e method of production (reg. EU 1379/2013, art. 35.1 and Annex I), as clarified by the MIPAAF circular of December 22, 2017 (Dongo, 2018).

The place of customs origin is that of the last substantial transformation (reg. EU 2026/2108, art. 169.2), therefore bottarga processed in Sardinia with imported eggs can indicate Sardinia as the place of production. However, when the label—outside the registered trademark (Dongo, 2023)—evokes aorigin, with words, flags or images, and the primary ingredient has a different provenance, it becomes mandatory to report this information with alternative wording such as for example with ‘mullet eggs: non-EU origin‘ or ‘made with mullet eggs of different origin‘ (reg. EU 1169/2011, art. 26.3; reg. exec. EU 2018/775, art. 2).

Researchers are also working on analytical tools for authentication. Stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur have been tested on the Greek PDO to distinguish Missolonghi bottarga from other origins (Thomatou et al., 2022), with a probabilistic model suitable for a small number of samples (Tsirogiannis et al., 2022). In Sardinia, the DNA barcoding correctly identified the species in bottargas produced from ovaries of Mugil cephalus e Mugil capurrii caught in the central-eastern Atlantic (Piras et al., 2018).

Data on production and prospects

Unfortunately, there are no disaggregated public statistics on bottarga: the customs code NC 1604 32 aggregates all caviar substitutes. Available data concerns the species. According to the FAO manual, the world mullet production has reached 1.07 million tons in 2024, of which 400,606 t from aquaculture, accounting for 37,4% (Vallainc et al., 2026). The farmed share of Mugil cephalus strictly speaking is still minimal, 5,934 t in 2024 (Randazzo et al., 2026), as farming still depends on the collection of wild juveniles.

The FAO manual no. 699, signed by researchers from the IMC Foundation of Oristano, the Catalan IRTA and the FAO, collects over ten years of research on reproduction in captivity, larval rearing, juvenile production and fattening (Vallainc et al., 2026). Tests conducted in Oristano between 2016 and 2019 on breeders collected from Sardinian lagoons achieved fertilization rates of 83% and hatching rates of 76%, with larval survival at 60 days between 10 and 19% (Vallainc et al., 2021).

Nutritional properties

The food composition tables indicated by CREA — Food and Nutrition Research Centre (2019) report the following nutritional values for mullet bottarga (code 120590, 50 g portion), per 100 g:

• energy 1,696 kJ / 405 kcal;
• fat 25.7 g;
• of which saturated fatty acids: n.d.;
• carbohydrates 0 g;
• of which sugars 0 g;
• fiber 0 g;
• proteins 43.5 g;
• salt: data not reported by CREA. On dry matter, Sardinian bottarga contains on average 3.6% sodium chloride (Caredda et al., 2018).

Nutritional and health indications

Data provided by CREA indicate that proteins provide about 43% of the energy and it is therefore possible to use, in labeling and advertising of bottarga, the nutritional indication ‘high protein content‘ (Reg. EC 1924/2006, Annex).

Several scientific studies have in turn measured the lipid fraction:

• in three Sardinian bottargas sampled from the market, total fatty acids ranged between 141.7 and 158.9 mg/g, with EPA between 10.5 and 13.0% and DHA between 15.2 and 15.9% of total fatty acids, in a fraction dominated by wax esters (Rosa et al., 2020a);
• an NMR analysis on Greek bottarga confirms wax esters at 72.9% molar of lipids (Lidoriki et al., 2025). The oil obtained from the processing waste salt is in turn rich in Omega-3, 122 g/kg (Rosa et al., 2020b);
• with these values it is reasonable to assume that bottarga far exceeds the threshold of 80 mg of EPA+DHA per 100 g required for the indication ‘high omega-3 fatty acid content‘ (Reg. EC 1924/2006, Annex), although their values may vary significantly with raw material and processing (Corrias et al., 2020),

The CREA does not report either the values of Omega-3 fatty acids or those of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Analytical data on representative product samples are in any case necessary to assess their contents in relation to the nutritional reference values set out in Annex XIII to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, recalling that tolerance for undervaluation on values justifying nutritional and health claims is not allowed (Dongo, 2023).

Our team of FARE (Food and Agriculture Requirements) supports operators, their representatives and research consortia in the enhancement of products, in labeling and advertising, also through the nutrition and health claims authorized pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1924/06.

Uses in cooking

Bottarga is a seasoning with intense taste that requires measured pairings. The traditional uses reported by regional sheets are two: as an appetizer in thin slices, with extra virgin oil and lemon and an accompaniment of ‘carta da musica’, the bread carasau; followed by grated, on pasta (Region Sardinia, n.d.).

The author adds their own recipe for a appetizer simple: thin slices of Sardinian bottarga accompanied by melon, in a pleasant contrast of sweet and savory, between orange tones and the warm ones of amber.

The spaghetti with bottarga of Cucchiaio d’Argento include garlic and shallot in oil, grated bottarga added off heat and some slices to decorate (Cucchiaio d’Argento, n.d.).

In professional cooking it is used on seafood risottos, raw vegetables, eggs and whipped butter. In Orbetello the short aging gives a softer product, suitable for slicing; the more aged Sardinian bottargas are better suited for grating.

The intense aromatic profile of this product — which evokes the strength of the sea — also suggests a gradual approach, for those discovering it for the first time: starting with small amounts on neutral bases allows the palate to progressively recognize its deep, ancestral and refined savoriness at the same time.

Advice for buyers

Some practical criteria, for gourmets and professionals:

• observe the appearance and consistency of the baffa (the fish ovary sac, naturally elongated and tapered in shape, subjected to salting and drying): color uniform amber; membrane adherent without bubbles or gaps; consistency compact, neither soft nor cracked;
• The sensory profile includes clean and marine aroma, balanced savoriness, absence of rancid, ammonia or excessively bitter notes;
• consider the reference priceswhich distinguish industrial bales (premium), traditional processes (super–premium) and the pieces luxury from local mullet roe (RavennaNotizie, 2025);
• for the professional buyers, ask the supplier for traceability documentation of raw materials, species and fishing or farming area, chemical analysis of volatile compounds, ABVT/TMA and main lipid oxidation indicators;
• store the product intact under vacuum in a cool, dry place and, after opening, in the refrigerator, according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The team of GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade) knows the structure of regional fish supply chains and assists foreign buyers in identifying excellent producers in the various price segments.

Conclusions

Italian mullet bottarga is a heritage of millennia-old history and artisanal expertise, capable of delivering a unique sensory experience that combines an intense aromatic profile with excellent nutritional properties.

The supply chain moves between identity productions, different price ranges and prospects essentially linked to innovation in aquaculture as documented and promoted by the FAO report (Vallainc et al., 2026).

The IGP registration for Sardinian bottarga is awaited with moderate enthusiasm, which will only be meaningful if it can enhance the entire production located on the island.

Dario Dongo

References

Scientific studies

Caredda, M., Addis, M., Pes, M., Fois, N., Sanna, G., Piredda, G., & Sanna, G. (2018). Physico-chemical, colorimetric, rheological parameters and chemometric discrimination of the origin of Mugil cephalus’ roes during the manufacturing process of Bottarga. Food Research International, 108, 128–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2018.03.039

Corrias, F., Atzei, A., Giglioli, A., Pasquini, V., Cau, A., Addis, P., Sarais, G., & Angioni, A. (2020). Influence of the technological process on the biochemical composition of fresh roe and bottarga from Liza ramada and Mugil cephalus. Foods, 9(10), 1408. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9101408

Piras, P., Sardu, F., Meloni, D., Riina, M. V., Beltramo, C., & Acutis, P. L. (2018). A case study on the labeling of bottarga produced in Sardinia from ovaries of grey mullets (Mugil cephalus and Mugil capurrii) caught in Eastern Central Atlantic coasts. Italian Journal of Food Safety, 7(1), 6893. https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2018.6893

Randazzo, B., Miccoli, A., Caccamo, L., Gai, F., Boggia, R., Turrini, F., Leone, A., Carboni, S., Concu, D., & Maricchiolo, G. (2026). Dietary black soldier fly meal remodels hepatic lipid metabolism and fillet fatty acids profile of flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758). Frontiers in Marine Science, 13, 1901130. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1901130

Rosa, A., Isola, R., Nieddu, M., & Masala, C. (2020a). The role of lipid composition in the sensory attributes and acceptability of the salted and dried mullet roes (bottarga): A study in human and animal models. Nutrients, 12(11), 3454. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12113454

Rosa, A., Nieddu, M., Masala, C., Marincola, F. C., Porcedda, S., & Piras, A. (2020b). Waste salt from the manufacturing process of mullet bottarga as source of oil with nutritional and nutraceutical properties. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 100(15), 5363–5372. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10584

Thomatou, A.-A., Psarra, E., Mazarakioti, E. C., Katerinopoulou, K., Tsirogiannis, G., Zotos, A., Kontogeorgos, A., Patakas, A., & Ladavos, A. (2022). Stable isotope analysis for the discrimination of the geographical origin of Greek bottarga ‘Avgotaracho Messolongiou’: A preliminary research. Foods, 11(19), 2960. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11192960

Tsirogiannis, G., Thomatou, A.-A., Psarra, E., Mazarakioti, E. C., Katerinopoulou, K., Zotos, A., Kontogeorgos, A., Patakas, A., & Ladavos, A. (2022). Probabilistic machine learning for the authentication of the protected designation of origin of Greek bottarga from Messolongi: A generic methodology to cope with very small number of samples. Applied Sciences, 12(13), 6335. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12136335

Vallainc, D., Concu, D., Gimenez Papiol, G., Loi, B., Leggieri, F., Brundu, G., Chindris, A., Sanna, G., Fois, N., Antognarelli, F., & Rossini, P. (2021). Producing flat-head grey mullet Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) fries in captivity from sexually mature adults collected in Sardinian lagoons. Aquaculture Reports, 21, 100844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aqrep.2021.100844

Reports and institutional sources

AGRIS Sardinia. (2026). Multidisciplinary characterization of Sardinian Bottarga. Autonomous Region of Sardinia. https://www.sardegnaagricoltura.it/documenti/14_691_20260423134430.pdf

CREA — Food and Nutrition Research Center. (2019). Food composition tables: Bottarga, flathead mullet (code 120590). https://www.alimentinutrizione.it/tabelle-nutrizionali/120590

Region of Sardinia. (n.d.). Mullet Bottarga. Traditional Agri-food Product Sheet. Sardinia Agriculture. https://www.sardegnaagricoltura.it/documenti/14_43_20070607151008.pdf

Region of Tuscany. (n.d.). Traditional Tuscan Products: Product Sheet – Orbetello flathead Bottarga. http://prodtrad.regione.toscana.it/LIB_ProdTrad/Prodotto.php?ID=8

Vallainc, D., Estevez, A., Ramos, S. J., Concu, D., Carboni, S., Duncan, N., & Lovatelli, A. (2026). Hatchery, nursery and grow-out techniques for the flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) (FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 699). FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd9536en

Regulatory sources of the European Union

Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2026 establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/2108/oj

Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/1379

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. Consolidated text: 01/04/2025. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/2025-04-01

Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. Consolidated text: 13/12/2014. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/1924/2014-12-13

Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children’s development and health. Consolidated text: 20/08/2025. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 laying down rules for the application of Article 26(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 regarding country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient of a food. OJ L 131, 29.5.2018, p. 8.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 laying down rules for the application of Article 26(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 regarding country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient of a food. OJ L 131, 29.5.2018, p. 8. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96 supplementing the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin. OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, p. 19.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96 supplementing the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin. OJ L 163, 2.7.1996, p. 19. Print and recipes

Print and recipes

AGRIS Sardinia. (2025). Multidisciplinary characterization of Sardinian Bottarga. Autonomous Region of Sardinia. https://www.sardegnaagricoltura.it/documenti/14_691_20250415104949.pdf

AGRIS Sardinia. (2026). Multidisciplinary characterization of Sardinian Bottarga. Autonomous Region of Sardinia. See pages 25,26. https://www.sardegnaagricoltura.it/documenti/14_691_20260423134430.pdf

ANSA. (2022, 10 September). PGI trademark for Sardinian bottarga, the Region accelerates. ANSA. https://www.ansa.it/sardegna/notizie/2022/09/10/marchio-igp-per-la-bottarga-sarda-la-regione-accelera_843a80fc-0c32-4370-85d3-6c983204851e.html

ANSA. (2022, 24 November). Up to 600 euros/kg for Cabras bottarga, the Sardinian caviar. ANSA. https://www.ansa.it/canale_terraegusto/notizie/prodotti_tipici/2022/11/24/fino-a-600-euro/kg-per-bottarga-di-cabras-il-caviale-sardo_0a44058d-cb76-40e7-ade8-7bf72dc75edc.html

ANSA. (2025, 10 May). Cabras bottarga is a new Slow Food Presidia. ANSA. https://www.ansa.it/sardegna/notizie/2025/05/10/la-bottarga-di-cabras-e-un-nuovo-presidio-slow-food_0aca333a-b339-4548-b90b-4177f0c5b15b.html

Silver Spoon. (n.d.). Spaghetti with bottarga. https://www.cucchiaio.it/ricetta/spaghetti-alla-bottarga/

RavennaNotizie. (2025, 17 September). Relaunching fish farming. UNIBO project presented on the production of mullet bottarga from the Po delta. https://www.ravennanotizie.it/0-copertina/2025/09/17/rilanciare-la-vallicoltura-presentato-il-progetto-unibo-sulla-produzione-di-bottarga-di-cefalo-del-delta-po

L’Unione Sarda. (2025). Cabras, Slow Food Presidium arrives for bottarga. L’Unione Sarda. https://www.unionesarda.it/news-sardegna/oristano-provincia/cabras-per-la-bottarga-arriva-il-presidio-slow-food-luo06wxr

Legal insights

Dongo, D. (2018, February 19). Bottarga, customs tariff and labeling. FARE – Food and Agriculture Requirements. https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/notizie/bottarga-tariffa-doganale-ed-etichettatura/

Dongo, D. (2023, April 17). Geographical indications, plant location and origin of raw materials. FARE (Food and Agriculture Requirements). https://fareagrifood.com/2023/04/17/sede-stabilimento-origine-materie-prime/

Dongo, D. (2023, June 29). Nutrition and health claims, what tolerances on declared values? FT (Food Times). https://www.foodtimes.eu/it/consumatori-e-salute/nutrition-health-claims-tolleranze-valori-dichiarati/