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The review provides an analysis of consuming fish resources by the population of Sierra Leone. It has been stated that consumption of fish resources per capita in Sierra Leone reached a high level (36.5 kg per capita) in 2008, while in 1961 the lowest level was observed - 11.4 kg. At the moment, the amount of fish consumed is gradually decreasing. According to a 2019 FAO study in Sierra Leone, fish accounts for 80% of the total animal protein consumed by the population. In the diet of the population of Sierra Leone, there is a deficiency of protein, vitamins and trace elements, which leads to an increase in a number of diseases. Fish is an excellent protein supplement to the grain-rich diet of the population and contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals necessary for humans. Ethmalosa fimbriata and Sardinella are the commercially important fish species in Sierra Leone, accounting for 46.54% and 16.42% of the population's consumption of commercial fish species, respectively. There was analyzed the biochemical composition of the commercial fish species (Ethmalosa fimbriata, Sardinella spp., Ilisha Africana, Elops spp., Dentex, Pseudotolithus elongates) in order to expand the range of food products.

The article presents experimental data on the effect of vegetable additives on changing the moisture mass frac-tions in minced fish in the course of drying. Minced whole fish, minced fish carcass, minced fish fillet with carrots, minced fish fillet with corn flour were taken as samples for drying. The most common fish in Sierra Leone, sardinella (Sardinella maderensis), was taken as fish raw material. Based on experimental studies, the drying curves were built depending on the changes in the mass fractions of moisture in minced fish with vegetable additives, the drying modes were substantiated. The low-temperature regime of 50 °C and the high-temperature regime of 100 °C and different drying cycles make it possible to obtain dry bases for soups and sauces with high organoleptic characteristics and increased nutritional value. As a result of the research, it was shown that the changes in the mass fraction of moisture in minced fish in the course of drying were influenced not only by temperature, but also by vegetable supplements. Minced fillet at the end of the drying process at both 50 and 100 °C has the highest value of the mass fraction of removed moisture (75.0 and 74.0%, respectively). When corn flour is added to minced fish, the mass fraction of removed moisture after drying decreases to 69.1% at 50 °C and to 68.2% at 100 °C. Based on the data obtained, we can talk about the prospects of using vegetable additives in the production of dry bases from minced fish for fish soups and sauces.