Abstract:
The study investigated the quality attributes of fermented fish processed by different fermentation periods. The factorial design was used to test the effect of the period of fermentation on the nutritional composition, bacterial count and sensory properties of fermented fish samples using the locally fermented fish as the control. Freshly harvested cassava croaker fish was purchased from Elmina, Central Region and transported to the laboratory in an ice box. Processing of the fermented fish was carried out using standard procedures and methods. Nutritional composition and bacterial count of fish samples were then determined. A self-developed sensory evaluation questionnaire was used to assess the sensory properties and consumer acceptability of the fermented samples. ANOVA and Chi- Square were used to test for differences among the nutritional composition, bacterial count and sensory properties of samples processed by different fermentation periods. The results showed that the longer the fermentation period, the more the nutrients (protein and fats) are reduced. It was also observed that the fish samples processed by different fermentation periods had reduced bacteria counts whiles the local fermented recorded the highest bacteria counts. The results also indicated that the fish sample fermented for three days (MD3F) had a comparable sensory attributes and consumer acceptability with the control but with a reduced bacterial count. Therefore the study recommends that producers of fermented fish adopt standard procedures in processing fermented fish to reduce bacterial count.
