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| Sunday, 4 January 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Quality and safety issues : Something fishy in the Karawala business? by Yasmina Sultanbawa and D. Mendis, Agro & Food Technology Division Industrial Technology Institute (successor to CISIR) Dry fish is one of the oldest processed foods in the world. Using common salt as a natural preservative and sunlight as a natural energy source, dry fish is still produced throughout the globe. There is no doubt that dry fish is a very tasty, safe, convenient, nutritious and low-cost product, if prepared in an appropriate manner.
Even though Sri Lanka is an island rich with fisheries resources, fish products are imported in large quantities since the total fish catch satisfies only 65% of the local demand Dry fish is the largest processed fish that is imported to the country. About 70% of the dry fish in the local market is imported (44,488 metric tons valued at Rs. 2930 million in the year 2002). It was reported in newspapers that the tax introduced on imported dry fish has irked fish traders and the public. With this new duty, the cost of imported dried fish might be on par with or even higher than that of the local product. However, there are many pros and cons regarding this issue, which are not dealt with here. The subject of this article is the quality and safety aspects of the dry fish trade in Sri Lanka, which should be addressed immediately. Quality and health risks Of course, price matters, dried fish (Karawala) is the poor man's protein. In fact, it is the main source of animal protein of the households in low-income groups, especially the people living in areas other than the coastal belt. However, from the nutritional point of view, the most important and burning issue is not the price but quality. It is not an exaggeration to say that dried fish (including Maldive fish) is one of the most unhygienic and unsafe food products in our market no matter whether it is locally produced or imported. According to the field observations made and laboratory tests carried out randomly by the Industrial Technology Institute todate, most of the dried fish available in the market are not up to the expected quality. Sometimes the quality of the imported dry fish is worse than that of the local product, with a few exceptions. However, an islandwide survey should be done in order to study the quality and safety of the entire dry fish distribution system. Identifying quality
By definition, dried fish is cured (salted) and sun-dried or artificially dried fresh or boiled fish. Sometimes a customer can identify the low-quality product by observing physical appearance. However, ;a considerable section of our society is so used to the spoilt dry fish smell and taste that it might not be able to differentiate a quality product. The texture should be firm and fibrous if it is good. In the case of a poor quality product, the flesh is soft, easily crumbles or pasty when pressed with fingers. The material is often discoloured (e.g. pink, red or black pigmented patches on the surface) and having off-odours (e.g. ammoniacal with strong byre-like, putrid, nauseating or faecal) indicating rancidity and the degree of spoilage. When cooking, pieces dissolve heavily in the gravy. Here are the reasons: a) Fish is not iced immediately after catching or landing. Even if ice is used, the proportion of fish to ice is not adequate to retain the freshness of fish. b) The raw material is not properly gutted and cleaned. c) Processing usually starts from spoilt or semi-spoilt raw material. d) Water used for cleaning of fish is polluted. In some areas, fish is washed in dirty lagoon water containing even faecal matter. e) The salt concentration is extremely high and contains many impurities. f) High amounts of acid insoluble ash are present mainly due to extraneous matter such as sand, stones, etc. g) Personal hygiene of the workers is totally unsatisfactory. h) Moisture content and water activity of the final product, which leads to microbial growth, is too high due to insufficient drying. i) Histamine (a food allergen) content usually exceeds the maximum allowable level. j) A proper packaging system is not applied during storage and distribution. Overcome the unavoidable 'short shelf-life' due to the above-mentioned reasons, some ignorant or unscrupulous processors and traders add various unnecessary chemicals (e.g. spraying of fungicides/pesticides, formalin or petrol to prevent worm infestation). Some traders brush the surface fungus and then re-salt before selling. Some use food preservatives, which are not allowed in any fish based products. Obsolete packaging It is true that unlike many other foods dry fish does not require cold storage. This is an advantage for a country like Sri Lanka, which is lacking in more sophisticated means of preservation and adequate cold chain facilities. However, this does not mean that this food does not need packaging. Like any other food product, dry fish and Maldive fish require a good package, which is suitable to protect the contents from moisture absorption, oxidation, physical damages, insect and mite infestation, cross-contamination, etc. Under damp storage conditions, halotolerant moulds may develop and halophilic bacteria derived from the salt also cause spoilage. But, both imported and local dry fish are mostly displayed in open gunny bags, cardboard and wooden boxes, cane baskets, etc. Most of the retailers still wrap small quantities in discarded newspapers and tie with jute thread. What a conventional method of food packaging? These newspapers contain hazardous printing inks, which can contaminate the product. According to the Secretary of the Sri Lanka Marine Product Traders' Association and Managing Director R & G International (Pvt) Ltd, Rajan Anthony, about 90% of the plantation workers take dry fish as the main dish in their daily diet and therefore the new tax will affect their budget. Of course, those toiling people often need more protein than office workers. But, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health & Indigenous Medicine revealed that protein malnutrition is fairly high, especially among the children (30% - 33%) in plantation areas (source: The Letter of Government, Presidential Secretariat, Issue No. 5 1999). Would it be worthwhile to sell a product with inferior quality even at a low price, if it does not satisfy the required high protein need of the consumer? In addition, it creates some serious health problems. (It is reported that a high consumption of salted fish has been linked with cancer of the stomach and nasopharyngeal region. In the case of Maldive fish, health risk is very much higher as many carcinogenic substances are contained in the fuel wood smoke used in processing. Even though some retail packs of dry fish and Maldive fish are available nowadays with rather higher prices, especially at popular supermarkets, most of the products inside are of poor quality. No proper label complying with the food labelling regulations is printed or affixed to most of those packs, so that the customer cannot get an idea even whether the product is imported or locally produced. Quality standards There are many disadvantages in traditional sun drying of fish as far as the food safety is concerned. This could be overcome up to certain extent, if modified solar dehydrators are used. Artificial drying is the best way to achieve a better quality product. However, this does not mean that a product, which is dried mechanically, is always superior (A good example is some imported dry fish). The initial quality of the raw material, curing and drying conditions and hygienic practices too are highly important. The quality of the dry fish products distributed in our country should satisfy at least the requirements stipulated in SLS 643: 1984 or SLS 811: 1988, Sri Lanka Standard Specifications for Dried Fish and Maldive Fish respectively. However, we understand that the above national standards are inadequate to meet the present-day quality requirements of both domestic and international market and therefore necessary revisions should be made. In countries like United States and European Union, no fish product can be sold without a valid quality certificate. Importers hire technical experts to send periodically to the processing sites in exporting countries for necessary inspections and advice. With growing concern about ocean pollution, scientists are now paying more attention to heavy metal accumulation (e.g lead, cadmium, mercury) through the food chain and some countries have issued a warning on the high consumption of certain predator fish due to the high levels of methyl mercury. In developed countries, the following information should be declared on the label of imported fish products: source of raw material, country of origin, country of final processing and Eco-labelling in order to ensure environmentally sound production process methods. Further, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical control Points) requirements are mandatory in fish processing factories if the product is to be exported to these countries. However, it requires a big capital investment. What we expect from the local processors of dried fish is at least an adherence to good hygienic practice, which is a prerequisite for HACC implementation. In Japan, people eat hygienically dried fish as a snack. We in Sri Lanka should aspire to reach such high standards of quality and safety. Improving infrastructure According to the importers, "... with no deep-sea fishing, Sri Lanka cannot think of meeting the demand for dry fish" (Daily News, 30.10.2003). What we really need is to think more positively. Indeed, deep-sea fishing is practised since the motorization of boats but the problem is still the quantity is not sufficient for processing. As an island having an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covering an area of over 500,000 sq.km., a Continental Shelf extending to 31,000 km, and Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) estimated at about 350,000 mt, Sri Lanka should promote deep-sea fishing whatever the shortcomings experienced in the past. High tech equipment and modern fishing methods have to be introduced and infrastructure facilities have to be developed at any cost since this is an issue, which is of national importance. Sri Lanka also has an extensive inland water body comprising more than 200,000 hectares. With the recent policy to uplift the inland aquaculture, freshwater fish production is now on the increase. It is obvious that as the fish catch goes up the processing industry will also expand. Simultaneously, good manufacturing practices and sanitary operations are to be introduced to the processors. The novel processing methods and quality control measures, which have been developed by ITI researchers, have proved that highly shelf-stable dried fish of excellent quality can be produced with minimum salt even under sunlight. Dried fish processed from Tilapia using ITI technology have revealed organoleptic acceptability in par with the ever-popular Katta karawala in the market. Packets of properly dried fish according to this technology could be presented in the forms of Ready-To-Cook or Ready-To-Fry products, which are very convenient for the busy housewives. In addition, there is a good ethnic market for value-added dry fish products (e.g. bottled fried sprats. Maldive fish sambol, dried prawn pachchadi, etc.) and some of the ITI clients are now successfully exporting these products to countries such as USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. The ITI has entered into the fish-processing arena only in 1999 and so far we have trained some small and medium scale dry fish processors who are now producing relatively safe products to the local market. We hope to transfer the technologies for some large-scale entrepreneurs too in due course. The ITI has well-equipped and accredited chemical and microbiological laboratories, which are approved by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for quality analysis of fishery products. Samples of primary processed fish to be exported and of imported canned fish are regularly submitted for testing. Yet, unfortunately, imported or locally produced dried fish are rarely subjected to quality analysis. Therefore compulsory inspections and laboratory tests in addition to proper implementation of existing food laws as a regulatory measure should be enforced to ensure the quality and safety of all dry fish products. Dry fish should also be included in the Imports (Standardization and Quality Control) Regulations 2001. Only such strategy will pave the way for the nation to enjoy a higher per capita fish availability as well as higher protein intake with safety of course. |
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