Influence of smoking and natural preservatives on shelf – life and microbial quality of Clarias gariepinus during storage

This study investigated the shelf – life and microbial quality of smoked Clarias gariepinus using Onion Bulb (OB), Holy Basil (HB) and Turmeric Rhizome (TR) as preservatives during 56 days storage. Sixteen C. gariepinus (1- 1.5kg) were distributed to four experimental containers: Control, TR2, OB3, and HB4 and the experiment were carried out in triplicates. Clarias gariepinus were smoked in a smoking kiln at 40o C- 60o C and 120-150 C for 6 and 18 hours respectively. Biochemical parameters, organoleptic assessment, and microbial analysis were carried out. Data were analyzed using ANOVA at P= 0.05. The result showed that the crude protein of C. gariepinus washigher in the treated groups compared to the control. Also, the result shows that the biochemical parameters, organoleptic assessment and the microbial loads in smoked C. gariepinus were reduced in the OB, HB, and TR than the control at 1 day, 28 days and 56 days storage respectively. It can be concluded that the natural plants may enhance the shelf life, consumer acceptability, and inhibit the growth of the microbial pathogen in smoked fish. Keywords: Catfish, Onion bulb, Holy basil, Microbial loads, Turmeric, Preservatives