Potential use of mud clam (Geloina coaxans) in producing sauce with papaya crude extraction as a protein hydrolysing agent

Mud clam (Geloina coaxans) are underutilised food source due to the lack of consumer preference in Sri Lanka. Hence, this study was conducted to produce clam sauce as a value added product using the muscle of mud clams by means of accelerated fermentation method. Specimens were collected from Tambalagam Bay, Sri Lanka. Shell length, height, inflation, total weight with shell and without shell were 6.3 ± 0.4 cm, 5.3 ± 0.3 cm, 3.5 ± 0.3 cm, 83.1 ± 13.4 g and 14.9 ± 1.3 g respectively. The extracted mean meat yield was 14.9 ± 1.3% per mud clam. Moisture, crude protein, crude lipid and ash (dry weight) content of raw meat were 80.45 ± 0.89%, 64.14 ± 0.96%, 3.55 ± 0.39% and 7.54 ± 0.61% respectively. Final sauce product shows liquid yield, energy value, 0Brix value, pH, % NaCl, total nitrogen, moisture and ash content as 98.3 ± 5.5 ml 100g–1, 2124 ± 133 J g–1, 24.3 ± 0.9%, 5.02 ± 0.04, 14.53 ± 0.27%, 0.27 ± 0.01%, 74.06 ± 0.56% and 19.66 ± 1.99% respectively. The study concluded that the mud clam meat is a possible candidate as a raw material for the production of clam sauce.