EFFECTS OF COOKING ON THE STABILITY & ANALYSIS OF THE PHYSICO CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL CANNED FISH

Abstract

Canned fish is a widely consumed source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, often reheated or cooked for convenience. However, little is known about how reheating affects its characteristics and nutritional value, potentially impacting overall quality. Additionally, canned fish may contain heavy metals like mercury and lead due to environmental pollution, posing potential health risks to consumers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of two commonly used reheating methods, sauteing and pan frying, on the physicochemical characteristics of commercially canned fish by measuring proximate composition, pH, water holding capacity, cook loss, calcium, phosphorus content. The presence of mercury and lead is also examined. In proximate analysis, the moisture (%) ranged from 65.87 ± 7.95 to 56.34 ± 2.72, ash (%) from 2.63 ± 1.12 to 1.82 ± 0.80, fat (%) from 20.23 ± 5.07 to 8.92 ± 4.37, protein (%) from 23.87 ± 2.27 to 21.85 ± 2.66. In physical test analysis, pH, W.H.C (cm2), cook loss (%) ranged from 6.67 ± 0.12 to 6.27 ± 0.25, 3.94 ± 1.46 to 3.51 ± 1.18, 11.98 ± 7.22 to 5.49 ± 3.24. Calcium (%) and phosphorus (%) ranged from 0.73 ± 0.49 to 0.65 ± 0.48, 0.29 ± 0.16 to 0.14 ± 0.01. Mercury & lead was not detected in any of the samples. The results of this study showed that there were no significant changes in the protein, ash, water holding capacity, calcium, phosphorus content of canned fish after either sauteing or pan frying. These findings indicate that these commonly used cooking and reheating methods do not significantly affect the physicochemical properties of commercially canned fish. Therefore, these methods can be considered as appropriate methods for cooking and reheating canned fish.