EFFECT OF STORAGE TIME ON THE QUALITY OF SMOKED HETEROCLARIAS

Effect of storage time on the quality of smoked heteroclarias was studied. 108 samples of heteroclarias (average weight 210 + 15g) was used. Analysis carried out include: proximate, mineral composition (Ca, Na, Fe and Mg), biochemical, amino acid and sensory evaluation. Data obtained was subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) while the sensory data was subjected to nonparametric test (Kruskal Wallis test). Smoked heteroclarias have good nutritional quality in terms of proximate, mineral and amino acids all of which decrease with increase in duration of storage at ambient temperatures. Glutamic acid  was the most predominant amino acid and the highest non-essential amino acid (NEEA), lysine was the most predominant EAA. There was higher concentration of non-essential amino acids than essential amino acids, EAA/NEAA ratio (0.86 – 0.93) recorded indicates that the fish have excellent protein quality; its the predicted protein efficiency ratio (P-PER) ranged between 3.44-3.61 and its biological value ranged between 79.84 -75.04. Its chemical score and TEAA decrease with increase in storage time. Its texture quality reduced significantly (χ2 = 12.207, p<0.01) with increased storage period. It is therefore recommended that smoked heteroclarias be consumed as soon as it is smoked and regularly for good healthy conditions especially among children, aged and other vulnerable groups.