SENSORY PANELS OF SMALL PELAGIC SPECIES IN THE SADC REGION

摘要

The objective of this paper is to present a study about some small pelagic fish species in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, focusing mainly on horse mackerel, which led to the creation of quality assessment sensory panels (visual guidelines). In addition, some examples will be given of traditional processing methods of horse mackerel, showing how to add value to the final product and its quality. Small pelagics (horse mackerel, anchovy and pilchard) play an important role inthe SADC region, providing animal protein sources in food security programs. In 1999 world fish production was estimated to be 125 million tonnes, which means that the average availability offish for human consumption was approximately 14 kg per capita worldwide. If we consider the production of fish in the SADC in the same year (i.e. 2 million tonnes) compared to its population (about 154 million), and the fact that one-third of the production is used as animal feed, actual availability of regional fish for human consumption is only a scant 9 kg per capita. Small pelagic fish constitute a large part of this (about 40 percent). There is a relative lack of quality assessment sensory panels for some tropical fish species in many countries (e.g. Mozambique), which has often led to difficulties for the technicians involved in the task of fish quality assessment. Under these circumstances, the need has been identified to not only establish a sensory profile for the main fish species but also to identify their shelf-life. For this reason the INFOSA,project decided to support the creation of quality assessment sensory panels for some SADC fish species, as well as the study of their shelf-life, starting with frozen horse mackerel. The samples (frozen and whole horse mackerel) obtained from distributors were analysed for quality and quality changes by performing characteristic sensory, chemical and microbiological analyses. Photographs of the observed changes were then used to create the sensory panels. Theresults of this study will be valuable for seafood consumers, local and regional markets, the processing industry and official regulators, among others. They will give the professional more possibilities to promote the exchange of information between regional and specialized international laboratories. The sensory panels and the data about the shelf-life will be used in campaigns to promote the consumption of fish of good quality in the local and regional markets, and in the development of training materials about handling and processing of small pelagic fish, especially for the small-scale/artisanal sector.