An Evaluation of the Suitability of Pangasius hypophthalmus for Smoke-Drying: Assessment of its Nutritional Quality and Safety

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of Pangasius as a raw material for smoke drying. In the present study, smoke drying was done similar to the methods followed by traditional fishermen but the experiments were conducted in controlled conditions in laboratory. Pangasius was hot smoked at 80°C for 3 hours, followed by mechanical drying at 60°C. The prepared product was cooled and quality of the product was evaluated using proximate composition, physicochemical parameters, benzopyrene content, microbial enumeration, analysis of fatty acids, analysis of amino acids and sensory evaluation. It was observed that the moisture content of smoked-dried Pangasius was below 15%. A decrease in pH to 5.96 and an increase in Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVBN) to 24.45 mg N/100g was observed in smoked-dried Pangasius. After smoke-drying, the Peroxide Value (PV), Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) and Free Fatty Acids (FFA) has increased to 2.98 meq O2/kg fat, 1.35 mg MDA/kg fat and 1.29% oleic acid respectively. Total Viable Count (TVC) and Staplylococcus spp. were within the acceptable limit. Saturated fatty acids increased during smoke drying with palmitic acid dominating others. Among amino
acids, glutamic acid, lysine and aspartic acid were dominant. The benzopyrene content of smoked dried Pangasius was observed to be 7 ppb. From the results, it was observed that the quality parameters of smoked-dried Pangasius were within the limit of acceptability with good sensory scores suggesting its acceptance. Hence, it was concluded that smoke-drying can be used as a method for preserving Pangasius by controlling the benzopyrene concentration in smoke during processing.

Key words: Smoking, drying, quality, fatty acids, aminoacids