Storability characteristics of smoked Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Abstract

Currently smoked Tilapia in Ghana enjoys high consumer acceptability and marketability with immense profit margin for both wholesalers and retailers. However, considering the long and complex market channels in the distribution of smoked Tilapia, the study aimed at assessing the storability of smoked Tilapia based on pH and moisture content measurements. Two treated (fresh and aged) samples of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus from the Volta Lake, Ghana were used. Both samples were subjected to the same processing procedure though aged Nile Tilapia (i.e. samples kept for 6 days without preservation) was cleaned in brine solution. Moisture content of smoked aged Tilapia (14.59 %, SE = 1.35) was significantly lower than that of smoked fresh Tilapia (19.54 %, SE = 0.54). The pH value of smoked fresh Tilapia (6.31, SE = 0.01) was significantly lower than recorded for smoked aged Tilapia (6.41, SE = 0.01), portraying lower water holding capacity and higher water absorption of the muscle in the smoked fresh Tilapia. From the results, storability of smoked aged Tilapia was relatively better, largely due to the presence of salt. Furthermore, pH values were within the range for quality fish (pH = 6.0 - 6.5), an indication that both smoked Tilapia samples are fresh products. Based on the outcome of the study, it is recommended that fish samples should be cleaned in salt water before smoking in order to reduce the moisture content of smoked fish and consequently increase its storability