Assessment of Quality of Smoked Fish Using Briquettes Crafted from Rice Husks and Fruit Peels

Abstract

The quest for alternative smoking fuels, beyond traditional wood, is essential to enhance the quality of smoked fish. This research focuses on evaluating the smoked fish quality achieved with briquettes derived from various sources: rice husks (53%) (BriqRi); pineapple peel (53%) (BriqAn); a combination of rice husks (18%) and pineapple peel (19%) (BriqRiAn); pineapple (19%) and orange peel (18%) (BriqAnO); and a composite blend of all three fuels (18% each) (BriqRiAnO). A total of 60 units each of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) and mackerel (Scomber scombrus) underwent smoking using five different types of briquettes. The evaluation encompassed both physicochemical and sensory parameters of the smoked fish, along with an analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contents. Significantly, higher weight losses post-smoking (p < 0.05) were observed in fish smoked with BriqAnO and BriqAn briquettes. The sensory evaluation conducted by a panel indicated that BriqRiAnO briquettes produced fish with the highest scores (p˂ 0.05). Furthermore, fish smoked with BriqRi rice husk briquettes exhibited the lowest levels of PAHs, whereas fish smoked with BriqAn pineapple peel briquettes showed the highest levels for most PAHs. Notably, no Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) hydrocarbon was detected in fish smoked using any of the briquettes. These findings suggest that briquettes derived from agricultural residues hold promise for enhancing fish smoking techniques in Benin.