Authors : Assefa Tessem, Sewmohon Demssie and Goraw Goshu
Abstract: A study was conducted at Bahir Dar Fish and Other Aquatic Life Research Centre to evaluate solar tent and drying rack methods of fish drying. Three different fish types (Labeo barbus, Clarias gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus) were sampled from Lake Tana during the period May, 2006 to April, 2008. The sampled fish were filleted and dried either in solar tent dryer (made of wood and plastic) or in the open air on a drying rack. Solar tent dried the fish in filleted form with better product quality. The moisture content of the product decreased to <25% and as a result it had a longer shelf life. Duration of drying was significantly shorter with solar tent (2 days) than with drying rack (4 days). Duration of drying was also shorter during the pre-rainy and dry season (1-2 days) than the main rainy and post-rainy season (3-5 days). Clarias gariepinus dried in solar tent had higher moisture content than Labeo barbus and Oreochromis niloticus but the moisture content was <25%. Calculated weight loss showed statistically significant difference with respect to both dryer types and seasons (p<0.05). Quantification of bacterial load, qualitative analysis and biochemical test showed that the bacterial load had pooled median abundance of log 3.64ACC per gram of fish and t ranged from log 1.9-6.04. The bacterial load increased after 6 months of storage. There was no salmonella detected in the stored dried fish. There was significant difference in hedonic scale values in dryer type (p<0.05). A further study on microbial load of dried filleted fish should be done in order to observe seasonal and species variation in microbial load.
Assefa Tessem, Sewmohon Demssie and Goraw Goshu, 2013. Evaluation of Solar Tent and Drying Rack Methods for the Production of Quality Dried Fish Used in Lake Tana Area. Journal of Fisheries International, 8: 7-12.