International Journal of Aquaculture, 2016, Vol.6, No.18, 1
-
6
1
Research Report Open Access
Effect of Sun-drying, Smoking and Salting on Proximate Composition of Fresh
Fillets of Mcheni (
Rhamphochromis
species - Pisces: Cichlidae) from Lake
Malawi, Malawi
Nevarson C.J. Msusa
1
, Fanuel Kapute
2
,
Jeremy S. Likongwe
3
, Daniel C. Sikawa
3
, Austin H. Mtethiwa
3
1 Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Department of Fisheries, Malawi College of Fisheries, Private Bag 7, Mangochi, Malawi
2 Mzuzu University, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Fisheries Science, P/Bag 201, Luwinga, Mzuzu 2, Malawi
3 Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bunda College, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Department of
Aquaculture and Fisheries Science, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi
Corresponding author Email
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2016, Vol. 6, No.18 doi
Received: 13 May, 2016
Accepted: 10 Jul., 2016
Published: 20 Oct., 2016
Copyright © 2016
Msusa et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Msusa N.C.J., Kapute F., Likongwe J.S., Sikawa D.C., and Mtethiwa A.H., 2016, Effect of sun-drying, smoking and salting on proximate composition of fresh
fillets of Mcheni (
Rhamphochromis
species - Pisces: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Malawi, International Journal of Aquaculture, 6(18): 1-6 (doi:
Abstract
A study was conducted to determine effect of sun-drying, smoking and salting on proximate composition of fresh fillets of
Rhamphochromis
species fish (local name: Mcheni) from Lake Malawi, Malawi. Fresh fillets prepared from the fish were sun dried,
sun dried then smoked, smoked fresh, salted then sun dried, and salted then smoked. The processed fillets were then analysed for
proximate composition. Highest and lowest moisture content was observed in fish that were salted then smoked (28.99±0.02) and
sundried then smoked (8.56±0.51) (P<0.05). Sundried and salted then smoked fish had the highest and lowest protein (53.68±0.79,
32.53±0.17) and energy (24.00±0.05, 16.31±0.02) levels respectively (P<0.05). More fats were retained in sundried fish (27.25±0.02)
while fish that were salted then sundried had the lowest fat content (11.09±0.05) (P<0.05). Salted then sundried fish had more ash
(18.83±0.12) while lowest ash levels were observed in fish that were smoked (5.03±0.03). A general observation was that sundried
fillets had higher protein, fat and energy content while smoking significantly reduced nutrient levels. On the other hand, salting
increased ash levels in the fillets and a combination of sun drying and smoking helped to produce a product with very little moisture
content. Results suggest that consumers would have a more nutritive product by avoiding adding salt to
Rhamphochromis
fillets but
rather sun drying and smoking. The lowest moisture content in sundried and smoked fillets also suggest a processed product with a
longer shelf life as moisture favours microbial growth that are responsible for most spoilage in fresh foods.
Keywords
Rhamphochromis
Species; Fillets; Smoking; Salting; Proximate Composition
1 Introduction
Fish is a good and highly nutritious food among many reasons, its high quality proteins, vitamins and minerals
(Ojutiku et al., 2009). In Malawi, fish provides the most affordable source of the much needed animal protein
because it is widely distributed and presented in forms that even low income people can afford. Fish is
nevertheless highly perishable due to complex processes involving physical, chemical and microbiological
activities (Sallam, 2007; Ojutiku et al., 2009).
Rhamphochromis
species are a high commercial value predatory
fish usually caught by hand lining. It is generally considered as fatty compared to other fish species endemic to
Lake Malawi such as Tilapia hence spoils fast due to fat oxidation. The need to preserve and/or process fish soon
after capture is mandatory in order to prolong its shelf life. The commonest processing methods for fish in Malawi
are sun drying and smoking. A considerable portion of fresh fish is also salted especially gutted larger sized fish
that are later sun dried or smoked.
Drying involves the application of heat to remove moisture from a product hence preserves fresh fish by
inactivating enzymes and removing moisture necessary for bacterial and mould growth (Duan et al., 2004). This
explains why dried products exhibit a longer shelf life, enhance quality and provide ease of handling (Mujumdar,
2007). Smoking is probably one of the oldest and commonest methods of fish preservation and processing in
