QUALITY CHARACTERIZATION OF MARKET AVAILABLE TUNGTAP- A FERMENTED FISH PRODUCT OF MEGHALAYA, INDIA

摘要

Fermented fish products are popular in the North eastern parts of India because of their characteristic flavour and aroma. Tungtap is a fermented fish product prepared from Puntius and /or Danio spp. and consumed as pickle and taste enhancer by the khasi tribes of Meghalaya. The study was carried out to assess the quality parameters of market available Tungtap. The results of the analysis showed that the market sample of Tungtap was a good source of protein, lipid and ash, i.e. 37.05%, 15.33% and 15.35% respectively but the biochemical parameters were found to be relatively higher. The microbial numbers were also relatively higher and the presence of Vibrio and E.coli indicates unhygienic processing or retailing. There were no visible fungal colonies on the product; however when grown on selective medium, a few fungal colonies were observed. But the product was safe from human consumption point of view.