STUDIES ON THE QUALITY AND PROCESS CONTROL FACTORS DURING THE PRODUCTION AND STORAGE OF SALTED DRIED FISH PRODUCTS

In this study the quality and process control factors during the production and storage of salted dried fish products. The study reveals that quantity of dry fish production in the state is decreasing and dry fish processing industry should be encouraged by central and state governments. The dry and wet salting may be carried out to a period of 4 to 8 hours respectively and time may depend on temperature, size, and concentration of medium. Demand is an unavoidable factor for sale of fish. The packed dry salted lots kept at room temperature are useful only for 20 days. The refrigerator- stored lots had more storage life and nutritional content are good up to 3 months. The cold storage stored dry salted lot had more storage life than the wet salted lot. The use of preservatives in salting is encouraged to reduce pH. The low temperature preservation maintains the nutritional value and quality for long period. It further encourages the labeling of nutritional value of dry fish as in tinned products.

STANDARDIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS FOR READY TO EAT FISH PRODUCTS IN INDIGENOUS POLYMER COATED TIN FREE STEEL CANS

In the present work, Indigenous polymer coated Tin Free Steel cans were analyzed fortheir suitability for thermal processing and storage of fish and fish products following standard methods. The raw materials used for the development of ready to eat thermally processed fish products were found to be of fresh condition. The values for various biochemical and microbiological parameters of the raw materials were well within the limits. Based on the analysis of commercial sterility, instrumental colour, texture, WB-shear force and sensory parameters, squid masala processed to F0 value of 8 min with a total process time of 38.5 min and cook value of 92 min was chosen as the optimum for squid masala in tin free steel cans while shrimp curry processed to F0 7 min with total process time of 44.0 min and cook value of 91.1 min was found to be ideal and was selected for storage study. Squid masala and shrimp curry thermally processed in indigenous polymer coated TFS cans were found to be acceptable even after one year of storage at room temperaturebased on the analysis of various sensory and biochemical parameters. Analysis of the Commission Internationale d’ Eclirage L*, a* and b* color values showed that the duration of exposure to heat treatment influenced the color parameters: the lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*)decreased, and the redness (a*) significantly increased with the increase in processing time or reduction in processing temperature.Instrumental analysis of texture showed that hardness-1 & 2 decreased with reduction in retort temperature while cohesiveness value did not show any appreciable change with decrease in temperature of processing. Other texture profile parameters like gumminess, springiness and chewiness decreased significantly with increase of processing time. W-B shear force values of mackerel meat processed at 130 °C were significantly higher than those processed at 121.1 and 115 °C. HTST processing of mackerel in brine helped in reducing the process time and improving the quality.The study also indicated that indigenous polymer coated TFS cans with easy openends can be a viable alternative to the conventional tin and aluminium cans. The industry can utilize these cans for processing ready to eat fish and shell fish products for both domestic and export markets. This will help in reviving the canning industry in India.