Smoked Fish Salam: Development and Sensory Analysis

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop smoked salamis (cold and hot) from mechanically separated meat (MSM) of tilapia, and to evaluate their acceptance through sensory analysis. Theoretical Framework: With the increase in fish production, large quantities of fish by-products are also generated, such as carcasses, heads, fillets, among others with high nutritional value that can be used in human and animal nutrition. Method: The methodology adopted for this research includes a control formulation subjected to smoking (cold and hot), and two others with the inclusion of 10 and 20% of CMS in natura, totaling four treatments. In the dehydration process, the salamis were weighed and subjected to pre-drying in a forced ventilation oven for three hours at 55ºC. Then, they were placed in a stainless steel smoker that produced smoke by burning sawdust (4h/55ºC). The cold smoking process was carried out using 20% of liquid smoke/volume of water, where the salamis were immersed for 15 minutes, drained and taken to the oven (4h/55ºC). At the end of the process, the weight loss of the sausages was calculated and sensory analyses were performed, where 50 untrained judges evaluated the products in terms of acceptance and purchase intention. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that total losses ranged from 16.71 to 32.79%. The type of smoking influenced the acceptance of the salamis (p<0.05), where color and aroma were the parameters that presented the highest values for hot-smoked salamis, as observed for purchase intention. Research Implications: Fish salamis enriched with fish protein sources are an excellent alternative for human nutrition, as they represent an excellent nutritional source for people who are concerned about healthy foods. There are several studies using animal protein sources such as fish to prepare healthy and easy-to-prepare foods, since due to people's fast-paced routines today, they need quick and healthy foods. Originality/value: this study contributes to the literature by highlighting the supplementation of food with processed fish by-products and enhanced in the form of fish sausages.