Production, proximate and sensory analysis of canned fish in tucupi and jambu (Acmella oleracea) sauce

The objective of the study was to develop canned fish with tucupi and jambu sauce from king weakfish, sardines and white mullet species. The elaborated products were submitted to sensorial, microbiological and centesimal analyses. The experimental design consisted of three treatments and five replications; 15 containers were processed at 121°C for 15 min. For sensory analysis, the 9-point hedonic scale was used. Frequency of consumption, purchase intention, acceptability index (AI%) and global acceptance (GA) were evaluated. Microbiological analyses were coliforms, coagulase positive Staphylococcus, Salmonella species and Clostridium. The proximate analysis followed the AOAC methodology. Data were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey test (p<0.05). For sensory analysis, the products had averages above seven, with no significant effect between treatments, except for the color attribute, where sardines stood out with eight points. The frequency of consumption and purchase intention did not show significant variation either. Microbiological analyses were within legal standards, with absence of Salmonella spp. and Clostridium <103 CFU/g. The canned, after thermal processing, present average levels of 17.59% of protein and 5.14% of lipid. The centesimal and microbiological analyses confirmed the nutritional quality and food safety of the developed products.   Key words: Thermal processing, amazon sauce, sardine, white mullet, weakfish, microbiological analysis, amazon food culture.