0 - WorldFish Center

Processing Operations
In Ghana, tilapia is processed into salted,
dried, smoked or fried forms.
Salting develops flavor, color and texture.
Simple salting systems are required. Also,
the optimization of salting and fermentation
to produce high-quality products with good
shelf stability is critical.
The drying method can have an impor-
tant effect on fish product quality. In Ghana,
fish drying is usually done in the open sun
with associated contamination. For the
effective promotion and delivery of
aquaculture products, new designs of simple
solar driers should be constructed in the
community.
Simple smoking ovens which can han-
dle small quantities efficiently must be
promoted. Examples from the fish
processors near Weija Lake should be used
(Sefa-Dedeh et al. 1 989).
The general strategy for processing
aquaculture products must be the use of
simple innovative techniques which do not
require extensive capital outlay yet are
efficient.
References
Nketsia-Tabiri, J. 1993. Traditional fish processes:
technology, quality development and
evaluation. Department of Nutrition and
Food Science, University of Ghana, Legon.
Ph.D. dissertation.
Sefa-Dedeh, S., M. Mensah and D. Fianu. 1989.
Freshwater fish processing in Ghana. The
Fishing industry at Machingani. Kellogg
International Fellowship Program in Food
Systems. Rep. 02-88, 53 p. University
of Ghana, Legon.