Performances of the barrel kiln used in cottage industry for fish processing and effects on physicochemical characteristics and safety of smoked fish products

Effect of Smoking and Grilling on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ghanaian Tilapia

The study assessed 18 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in O. niloticus (Nile tilapia) sampled from an aquaculture cage (farm) and a wild catch. The PAHs in fish samples were analysed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Four PAHs (in order of levels: Indeno [1,2,3-cd] pyrene > Anthracene > Perylene > Pyrene; 100-0.8 µg/kg) and only one PAH (Pyrene: 4 µg/kg) were detected in raw samples from the cage and wild catch respectively. Chargrilling significantly increased Pyrene levels after cooking (wild: 4-11 µg/kg; cage: 5-23 µg/kg, p < .05), and likewise Anthracene levels in cage samples (13-153 µg/kg) but decreased Indeno [1,2,3-cd] pyrene levels from 100 ± 20 to 1.2 ± 0.2 µg/kg in cage samples. Smoking significantly increased 13 to 15 PAH congeners' levels (from < 1.0 up to 340 µg/kg) and total PAHs (wild: 4 to 840 µg/kg; cage: 110 to 560 µg/kg), and decreased Indeno [1,2,3-cd] pyrene (100 to 1.3 µg/kg) in cage samples but showed no effect on Benzo [g, h, i] perylene and Dibenzo [a, h] anthracene levels in all samples. For smoked samples, Benzo [a] pyrene and PAH4 (Benzo [a] anthracene, Chrysene, Benzo [b] fluoranthene, and Benzo [a] pyrene) exceeded the respective maximum permissible limits of 2 µg/kg and 12 µg/kg, and significantly influenced the levels of carcinogenic PAHs (CPAH, 135-170 µg/kg). Nevertheless, the Excess Cancer Risk (ECR) estimates, from a conservative approach, were far below the threshold (10-4), implying that consuming smoked or grilled tilapia from the study site is safe.

Development and Validation of Nutrition and Food Safety Educational Material for Fish Processors in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

fish can be an affordable and accessible animal-source food in many Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC).

BACKGROUND

Traditional fish processing methods pose a risk of exposing fish to various contaminants that may reduce their nutritional benefit. In addition, a lack of literacy may increase women fish processors' vulnerability to malnutrition and foodborne diseases.

OBJECTIVE

The overall aim of the project was to educate women and youth fish processors in Delta State, Nigeria about the benefit of fish in the human diet and to develop low literacy tools to help them better market their products. The objective of this study was to describe the development and validation of a low-literacy flipbook designed to teach women fish processors about nutrition and food safety.

METHOD

developing and validating instructional material requires understanding the population, high-quality and relevant graphics, and the involvement of relevant experts to conduct the content validation using the Content Validity Index (CVI) and the index value translated with the Modified Kappa Index (k).

RESULT

The Item-level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) value of all domains evaluated at the initial stage was 0.83 and the Scale-level Content Validity Index (S-CVI) was 0.90. At the final stage, the material was validated with CVI 0.983 by four experts and satisfied the expected minimum CVI value for this study (CVI ≥ 0.83, p-value = 0.05). The overall evaluation of the newly developed and validated flipbook was "excellent".

CONCLUSIONS

the developed material was found to be appropriate for training fish processors in Nigeria in nutrition and food safety and could be modified for a population of fish processors in other LMICs.

A Comprehensive Review with Future Insights on the Processing and Safety of Fermented Fish and the Associated Changes

As an easily spoiled source of valuable proteins and lipids, fish is preserved by fermentation in many cultures. Over time, diverse types of products have been produced from fish fermentation aside from whole fish, such as fermented fish paste and sauces. The consumption of fermented fish products has been shown to improve both physical and mental health due to the composition of the products. Fermented fish products can be dried prior to the fermentation process and include various additives to enhance the flavours and aid in fermentation. At the same time, the fermentation process and its conditions play a major role in determining the quality and safety of the product as the compositions change biochemically throughout fermentation. Additionally, the necessity of certain microorganisms and challenges in avoiding harmful microbes are reviewed to further optimise fermentation conditions in the future. Although several advanced technologies have emerged to produce better quality products and easier processes, the diversity of processes, ingredients, and products of fermented fish warrants further study, especially for the sake of the consumers' health and safety. In this review, the nutritional, microbial, and sensory characteristics of fermented fish are explored to better understand the health benefits along with the safety challenges introduced by fermented fish products. An exploratory approach of the published literature was conducted to achieve the purpose of this review using numerous books and online databases, including Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and PubMed Central, with the goal of obtaining, compiling, and reconstructing information on a variety of fundamental aspects of fish fermentation. This review explores significant information from all available library databases from 1950 to 2022. This review can assist food industries involved in fermented fish commercialization to efficiently ferment and produce better quality products by easing the fermentation process without risking the health and safety of consumers.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Contents of Four Species of Smoked Fish from Different Sites in Senegal

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are compounds resulting from any incomplete combustion process. These are pollutants that have proven toxicity due to their carcinogenic nature and can contaminate food during traditional smoking methods. Their highly toxic effect on human health requires monitoring of their levels in food products and the development of appropriate analytical methods for their determination. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the level of PAHs contamination of four (4) species of smoked fish (Arius heudelotii, Sardinella aurita, Ethmalosa fimbriata, and Sardinella maderensis) which were sampled in seventeen (17) localities in Senegal. The compounds targeted in this study were benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P), benzo(a)anthracene (B(a)A), benzo(b)fluoranthene (B(b)F), and chrysene (Chr). The QuEChERS method was used for the extraction of PAHs, and their contents were quantified by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with mass spectroscopy (MS). The validation method was performed in accordance with the French standard NF V03-110 (2010). Satisfactory linearity (R² > 0.999), LOD (0.05-0.09 μg/kg), LOQ (0.19-0.24 μg/kg), and precision (1.33-3.13%) of the four PAHs were obtained. The results of analysis in the 17 localities showed that all samples are contaminated by the four (4) PAHs with great variability of the contents between the different species and their origin. The B(a)P and ∑4PAHS contents in the samples ranged from 1.7 to 33 µg/kg and from 4.8 to 1082.3 µg/kg, respectively. Twelve (12) samples showed high levels of B(a)P, ranging from 2.2 to 33 µg/kg, thus exceeding the maximum authorized level (2 µg/kg). Fourteen (14) samples showed an overall ∑4PAHS content varying from 14.8 to 1082.3 µg/kg, which is above the maximum authorized limit (12 µg/kg). The principal component analysis showed that sardinella (Sardinella aurita and Sardinella maderensis) have very low levels of B(a)P, B(b)F, B(a)A, and Chr contents. However, high ∑4PAHS contents characterize smoked fish of the Kong species (Arius heudelotii), from Cap Skiring, Diogne, Boudody, and Diaobé, and of the Cobo species (Ethmalosa fimbriata) from Djiffer. Thus, based on the authorized limits for PAHs in smoked fish, it appears that smoked fish of the sardinella species are less carcinogenic for human consumption.

A Comprehensive Review on the Processing of Dried Fish and the Associated Chemical and Nutritional Changes

Fish is a good source of nutrients, although it is easily spoiled. As such, drying is a common method of preserving fish to compensate for its perishability. Dried fish exists in different cultures with varying types of fish used and drying methods. These delicacies are not only consumed for their convenience and for their health benefits, as discussed in this review. Most commonly, salt and spices are added to dried fish to enhance the flavours and to decrease the water activity (aw) of the fish, which further aids the drying process. For fish to be dried effectively, the temperature, drying environment, and time need to be considered along with the butchering method used on the raw fish prior to drying. Considering the various contributing factors, several physicochemical and biochemical changes will certainly occur in the fish. In this review, the pH, water activity (aw), lipid oxidation, and colour changes in fish drying are discussed as well as the proximate composition of dried fish. With these characteristic changes in dried fish, the sensory, microbial and safety aspects of dried fish are also affected, revolving around the preferences of consumers and their health concerns, especially based on how drying is efficient in eliminating/reducing harmful microbes from the fish. Interestingly, several studies have focused on upscaling the efficiency of dried fish production to generate a safer line of dried fish products with less effort and time. An exploratory approach of the published literature was conducted to achieve the purpose of this review. This evaluation gathers important information from all available library databases from 1990 to 2022. In general, this review will benefit the fishery and food industry by enabling them to enhance the efficiency and safety of fish drying, hence minimising food waste without compromising the quality and nutritional values of dried fish.

High-pressure processing of fish and shellfish products: Safety, quality, and research prospects

Seafood products have been one of the main drivers behind the popularity of high-pressure processing (HPP) in the food industry owing to a high demand for fresh ready-to-eat seafood products and food safety. This review provides an overview of the advanced knowledge available on the use of HPP for production of wholesome and highly nutritive clean label fish and shellfish products. Out of 653 explored items, 65 articles published during 2016-2021 were used. Analysis of the literature showed that most of the earlier work evaluated the HPP effect on physicochemical and sensorial properties, and limited information is available on nutritional aspects. HPP has several applications in the seafood industry. Application of HPP (400-600 MPa) eliminates common seafood pathogens, such as Vibrio and Listeria spp., and slows the growth of spoilage microorganisms. Use of cold water as a pressure medium induces minimal changes in sensory and nutritional properties and helps in the development of clean label seafood products. This technology (200-350 MPa) is also useful to shuck oysters, lobsters, crabs, mussels, clams, and scallops to increase recovery of the edible meat. High-pressure helps to preserve organoleptic and functional properties for an extended time during refrigerated storage. Overall, HPP helps seafood manufacturers to maintain a balance between safety, quality, processing efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms of pressure-induced modifications and clean label strategies to minimize these modifications.

Chemical hazards in smoked meat and fish

This review aims to give an insight into the main hazards currently found in smoked meat and fish products. Literature research was carried out on international databases such as Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) database, Science direct, and Google scholar to collect and select 92 relevant publications included in this review. The smoking process was described and five hazards mostly found in smoked fish and meat were presented. The heat-induced compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic amines, and nitrosamines were found in smoked fish and meat. Other hazards such as biogenic amines and heavy metals were also present in smoked fish and meat. The levels of these hazards reported from the literature exceeded the maximal limits of European Union. A brief description of risk assessment methodology applicable to such toxic compounds and risk assessment examples was also presented in this review. As most of the hazards reported in this review are toxic and even carcinogenic to humans, actions should be addressed to reduce their presence in food to protect consumer health and to prevent public health issue.