Abstract:
Dried fish is very important component in Sri Lankan fishery productswhile current domestic production is estimated at around
40,000 tons per year. Generally, dried fish production in Sri Lanka is based on traditional methodology where 30% of salt is used
averagely. Use of excess amount of salt can have negative health effects. Therefore production of dried fish with low salt is very
important.Accordingly, partial substitution of salt with alternative substances can be done. Current study aimed at evaluating the
effect of low levels of salt and combined effect of low salt and spices on quality of dried fish. The study was carried out using
eviscerated and cleaned up GoldstripeSardinella with 0% (T1), 5% (T2), 10% (T3) salt levels and two different combinations of
salt and spices (1%salt with 0.2%turmeric, 0.5%chlli, 0.5%pepper (T4) and 2%salt with 0.2%turmeric, 0.2%chlli, 0.2%pepper
(T5)). Hot air dehydrator (65-70 0
C) was used for fish drying. Chemical (moisture, water activity (aw), Total volatile nitrogen
(TVN), and sodium chloride), physical (texture and rehydration), microbiological (APC, mould and yeast count and coliform
count) properties and sensory attributes of experimentally prepared dried fish were investigated. The chemical parameters for all
treatments were significantly different (p<0.05) while physical parameters were not (p>0.05). T2 indicated the best chemical
quality. The values for moisture, aw, sodium chloride, TVN, texture and rehydration for T2, were 11.6584±0.03, 0.591±0.002,
12.43±0.15, 59.43mg/100g±12.86, 1.54kg±0.14 and 12.70±3.54 respectively. T2 and T3 had least microbial counts while T1 and
T5 had highest microbial count. But T5 had highest scores for all sensory attributes indicating consumer preference for low salt
and spicy taste regardless of high TVN content and poor microbial quality.Therefore it is essential to improve the methodology to
enhance the quality of low salt and spices added dried fish.
