Quality Profile of the Smoke Cured Freshwater Prawns Sold in Interior Markets of Western Orissa

Abstract

Smoke curing of fresh water prawn is an age-old practice prevalent in Orissa. In the present study different quality parameters of smoke cured freshwater prawns sold in interior retail markets of Orissa are reported. The bacteriological analyses of the smoked prawn samples revealed the occurrence of mesophilic aerobic bacteria (3.9 to 6.0 log cfu/g), fecal coliforms (2.78 to 5.9 log cfu/g), fecal streptococci (4.64 to 5.98 log cfu/g), staphylococci (4.20 to 6.72 log cfu/g) and coagulase positive staphylococci (4.36 to 4.78 log cfu/g). The average occurrence of total staphylococci was found to be 6.27 log cfu/g which is far beyond the permitted levels. The moisture contents of the samples varied from 8.43 to 14.95% with an average of 9.59%, fat content from 3.88 to 7.96% with an average of 5.35%, total volatile nitrogen 28.66 to 47.35 mg% with an average of 36.03 mg% and alpha amino nitrogen from 233.24 to 493.14 mg% with an average of 394.57 mg%. Among the samples studied, 41.66% contained miscellaneous fish and 50% had unwanted materials. One sample showed insect infestation also. Sensory evaluation studies on a 10-point hedonic scale revealed that the over all mean scores ranged from 5.38 to 7.07, with majority (75%) of the samples scoring 6 points. In view of occurrence of S. aureus in high numbers to an extent of becoming hazardous to human health, an overall quality upgradation of the smoked product is advocated.