Effect of marketing practices on the quality of fresh fish in Ghana

Abstract

Selected fresh fish retail markets in the District of Accra were surveyed to determine the fish marketing practices, available facilities and the general conditions of fish marketing. Samples of fish were collected from the markets and analysed for their physical, chemical, sensory and microbiological quality as related to the prevailing market conditions. Poor handling practices were observed to be the major contributory factor leading to early fish spoilage in the various fish markets surveyed. Display techniques carried out in either the open space or in stalls that are not fly-proof were found to further aggravate the spoilage problem. In addition, the practice of over-loading fish in boxes resulted in belly burst leading to contamination of the whole batch of fish, with gut contents serving as a good source of microbial inoculum. Little or no ice was used to lower the temperature of fresh fish inorder to preserve its freshness during sale. Thus, most of the fish species examined were found to be unfit for consumption, having lost most of the freshness attributes. Microorganisms involved in the spoilage includes: E. coli, Bacillus spp., Micrococci, Aeromonas and Corynebacterium; with a maximum aerobic count per gram of 482 x 10⁷ organisms. The presence of faecal coliforms was indicative of faecal contamination either from the batch of fish or from human source. The texture and flavour of some of the cooked fish samples showed poor sensory qualities, although the odour of all the cooked fresh fish samples analysed were found to be acceptable. However, variability in scores showed that fish samples collected from landing sites had better sensory scores than those purchased from the fish markets (having been handled along the chain of distribution). Hence, fish reaching the consumer tend to be of poor quality. There was a steady correlation between free fatty acid content and the extent of spoilage. Higher values of over 18% were recorded for Grade C fish, while lower values of less than 3% were observed in Grade B fish samples