diff --git a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/discovery/SolrServiceFileInfoPlugin.java b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/discovery/SolrServiceFileInfoPlugin.java
index 590527025aaf..29c420e586fd 100644
--- a/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/discovery/SolrServiceFileInfoPlugin.java
+++ b/dspace-api/src/main/java/org/dspace/discovery/SolrServiceFileInfoPlugin.java
@@ -179,6 +179,7 @@ protected void addAndHandleException(
     }
 
     private void indexBitstreamsMetadatadas(SolrInputDocument document, Bitstream bitstream) {
+        if (mappableMetadata != null) {
         bitstream
             .getMetadata()
             .stream()
@@ -190,6 +191,7 @@ private void indexBitstreamsMetadatadas(SolrInputDocument document, Bitstream bi
                     .orElseGet(() -> new SolrFieldMetadataMapper(metadataField.toString(), bitstreamMetadataIndexAdder))
                     .map(document, metadata.getValue());
             });
+        }
     }
 
     public void setMappableMetadata(Map<String, SolrFieldMetadataMapper> mappableMetadata) {