Abstract

This study reports on the nutritional composition, sensory evaluation and microbiological studies of fish cake made from shrimp bycatch. The yield of mince from the bycatch was 80.26% mince; 10.21% residue and 9.53% loss. The mince proximate composition was 66.32% moisture; 20.08% protein; 3.45% lipid and 3.93% ash. The proximate composition of the raw fish cakes was 64.40% moisture; 19.13% protein; 4.14% lipid; 6.11% ash and 6.22% carbohydrate. The deep fried fish cake had 60.12% moisture; 21.01% protein; 8.50% lipid; 6.30% ash and 4.07% carbohydrate. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed between the proximate composition of raw and deep fried fish cake. The peroxide values (PV) of raw and deep fried fish cake ranged from 7.20 - 22.00 mEqO₂/Kg of lipid during six week storage period. There was significant correlation between storage time and peroxide values in both treatments. Microbiological analysis showed that the Total Viable Count (TVC) decreased with increase in frozen period. The results obtained were within the acceptable limit of International Commission on Microbiological Specification for Food. The organoleptic properties of the deep fried cake indicated that the product was acceptable until about the fourth week. The study showed that fish cake from shrimp bycatch is microbiologically safe and nutritionally high in protein, fat as well as calcium.

Key words: Bycatch, fishcake, shrimp, sensory, proximate, mince, peroxide values, staphylococcus.