Assessment of quality and safety of traditional smoked spotted tilapia fish (Tilapia mariae) from Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to assess the quality and microbial safety of traditional smoked spotted tilapia fish from Lagos State and, by doing so, determine the quality and microbial safety level of traditional smoked spotted tilapia fish, their distribution, effects and possible public health implications of the quality/rancidity indices and microorganisms on the consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Fresh spotted tilapia fish (100 samples) were collected from 20 different fishing/processing centres and divided into two batches. One batch was smoked with local drum kiln at processing centres, and the second batch was smoked with convective smoking kiln as control in the laboratory. Each batch was assessed for moisture content, protein content, fat content, crude fibre content, ash content, pH, thiobarbituric acid (TBA), total volatile base- nitrogen (TVB-N), trimethylamine (TMA), peroxide value (PV) and free fatty acid (FFA) values. Microbiological analyses were also conducted. Each batch was assessed for total viable count (TVC), fungal count, Listeria monocytogenes count, Staphylococcus aureus count, Salmonella paratyphi count and presence or absence of Escherichia coli. Findings – The results of the proximate composition, quality indices and microbiological analyses revealed that there was significant variations (p < 0.05) between smoked fish with different smoking methods. The mean pH, TBA, TVB-N, TMA, PV and FFA values of fresh and smoked spotted tilapia fish samples were within the range recommended by United States Food and Drug Administration. The mean TVC of fresh spotted tilapia fish samples was 6.3 × 106-8.8 × 108 cfu/g and TVC of samples of smoked spotted tilapia fish and the control were 2.0 × 104-6.4 × 104 cfu/g and 1.0 × 103-8.6 × 103 cfu/g, respectively. The mean L. monocytogenes count of fresh spotted tilapia fish samples was 1.3 × 102-2.4 × 102 cfu/g and that of samples of smoked spotted tilapia fish ranged from 1.6 × 101 to 23.1 × 101 cfu/g while samples of smoked spotted tilapia fish using convective smoking kiln showed no count for L. monocytogenes. The mean S. aureus count of fresh spotted tilapia fish samples ranged from 4.7 × 103 to 8.0 × 103 cfu/g and that of samples of smoked spotted tilapia fish ranged from 5.1 × 102 to 88.6 × 102 cfu/g and 1.1 × 102 to 3.8 × 102 cfu/g. The mean fat content (FC) count of samples of smoked spotted tilapia fish ranged from 1.1 × 101 to 6.0 × 101 cfu/g. S. paratyphi and E. coli were not detected in all smoked spotted tilapia fish samples. The study, however, concluded that the traditional drum smoked spotted tilapia fish could expose consumers to high microbial risk because of the presence of L. monocytogenes. Research limitations/implications – The fresh fish used in this study were obtained from coastal villages in Lagos State, and there were limitations in getting the samples in time to the processing centres and in preserving the fresh fish because of poor or non-availability of power (electricity). Practical implications – The paper includes implications for the development of a cost-effective smoked fish, to ensure food safety, enhanced health and improve the preservation and post-harvest losses of fresh fish. Social implications – The paper helps in developing an effective smoked method that will produce good-quality smoked fish, reduce the incidence of food poison and enhance the health of consumers. Originality/value – This research is of value to the traditional fish smokers and consumers. Smoked fish has been implicated as a source of microbial infection in Nigeria and West African sub-region in recent times and the need for good manufacturing practices cannot be overemphasized.

Drying characteristics and quality evaluation of dehydrated catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

“…These showed that there was a significant influence of processing parameters on proximate compositions of the dehydrated catfish in the present study. This agreed with the reports of Adeyeye et al (2016b) in assessing the quality and safety of traditional smoked spotted tilapia fish ( Tilapia mariae ) from Lagos State, Nigeria, and Chukwu and Shaba (2009) studied the effects of drying methods (kiln smoking at 60-70°C and electric oven drying at 120°C) on proximate compositions of whole catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) of about 278 g each. However, Treatment 5 that gave the lowest MC (7.43 per cent) in this study could enhance the maintenance of quality during storage and the first ranking in overall acceptability of the corresponding dehydrated catfish sample in the preliminary sensory evaluation result (Table I) suggested this combination of processing parameters (6 per cent brine, 90 min and 110°C) as the best conditions for the production of good quality dehydrated catfish.…”

Evaluation of bacterial and chemical quality of new manufactured pasted fish products in a large scale fish processing plant, Egypt

“…Higher results were recorded in cooked Anchovy cake (46.59±0.79) by Inanli et al (2011), ln fish paste (77.23±0.04) and fish burger (65.58±0.46) by Mahmoudzadeh et al (2010). Lower results were recorded in smoked spotted tilapia fish samples (Adeyeye et al, 2016). Moisture content of fish is necessary for a number of biochemical reactions and physiological changes that could affect the stability and quality of fish.…”

“…(Table I). Although several studies recorded approximate protein per cent in various fish products (Adeyeye et al, 2016;Naila et al, 2011); however, lower protein %t was observed in some fish pastes and fish burgers from Iran (Mahmoudzadeh et al, 2010). The low protein content could be attributed to the processing conditions and the time of fish harvest (Kristinsson and Rasco, 2000;Rezaei and Hedayatifard, 2013).…”

Development of Ready to Eat Fish Paste Using Chub Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Tail Off cuts

“…Although several studies recorded approximate protein percent in various fish products (Naila et al, 2011;Adeyeye et al, 2016). The low protein content of the fish products could be attributed to the processing conditions and the time of fish harvest (Kristinsson and Rasco, 2000;Rezaei and Hedayatifard, 2013).…”