Bull. Cent. Mar. Fish. Res. Inst.

, 1994, 46 : 71 - 75
4.1
4. PROCESSING, QUALITY CONTROL AND UTILIZATION
OF BECHE-DE'MER

IMPROVED METHODS OF PROCESSING HOLOTHURIANS FOR

BECHEDE-MER

D. B. JAMES*

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin • 682 014

ABSTRACT

The value of beche-de-mer depends on the quality and method of processing. The present day processing
leaves much to be desired. At present holothuriems in India are processed in the same manner. The hygenic
conditions of processing holothurians are not satisfactory. Improved methods for processing of different species
of holothurians are given in the paper.

INTRODUCTION tions, but resort to adulteration of the product

to make quick money.
The value of beche-de-mer depends upon
the quahty. The quality depends on the method The processing has been introduced by the
of processing. At present there are lot of defects Chinese nearly 2000 years ago and supervised
during processing. All species of holothurians in under their watchful care. Slowly in order to
India are now processed in the same manner. make profits, processors restored to short-cut
The processing in hygenic conditions are not upto methods at the expense of quality.
the mark and fetch poor price when compared to
the material from other countries. Homell (1917) Species
was the first person who gave several sugges-
tions for the improvement of quality of beche-de- Only about ten species are of commercial
mer. Durairaj (1982) and Durairaj et al. (1984) value from India. Among them the teat-fish
evolved quality standards for beche-de-mer. Holothuria nobilis ranks first, as it commands
Recently James (1986) suggested methods for maximum price. Prickly red-fish Thelenota
quality improvement in [Link]. ananas ranks second, black-fish Actinopyga
miliaris ranks third and the sand-fish Holothuria
FACTORS CONTROLLING QUALITY scabra which is the most common species for
processing ranks fourth in quality.
The quality of beche-de-mer mainly
depends on the species used, size, shape, Size
appearance, colour, odour and moisture content.
Many of the above factors can be controlled Size is the most important criterion to fix
during processing. Presently the processing is the quality and price. The first grade quality is
with the hands of unscrupulous profiters who above 12 cm when processed. Though small
not only process them under unhygenic condi- sized forms have some demand, they fetch very
low price Longer, sturdier and stouter ones fetch
higher prices than shorter, slender and flexible
* Present address : TRC of CMFRI, 90 North Beach Road, ones. The sea-cucumbers usually shrink to one
Tuticorin 628 001 third the size on processing.
72 D. B. JAMES

Appearance kept in palm leaf baskets and net bags since the
animals closer to t h e holes shape into them. It
Price is controlled mainly based on appear- is best to keep the sea-cucumbers in a plastic
ance. The appearance of a product should be fish box or trays having a smooth interior
neat and free from any dirt, sand and also from surface and drain holes of 1 cm diameter or less.
white chalky deposits. The presence of white If the holes are larger the animals t h a t are
chalky deposits is due to improper processing. closer to the holes shape into them and the holes
Such material needs to be re-processed. Those get blocked. The box should be cleaned prior to
which have tear markings, leisons on the skin placing of the animals as dirt and sand particles
fetch low prices. The cut made for degutting become embeded into the body wall. If coral bits
should be neat and straight. and algal pieces are found attached to the body
they should be removed and t h e animal is
Shape cleaned in sea water before placing t h e m inside
the box. Sand-fish can be placed one above the
The shape of beche-de-mer depends upon other and they flatten out while alive. In case
the species used. Neat, cylindrical forms are of teat-fish a single layer is preferable. If stacked
preferred. Some species like teat-fish and one above the other the outer skin of the body
prickly-fish have characteristic projections in wall tends to break and after processing these
the end product also. These help in identifying appear as tear marks down grading the product.
the species of t h e product. Prickly-fish needs special care as the tubercles
get damanged if handled improprly. After
Colour capture the sea-cucumbers should never be
exposed to sun as the top layer of the animal
Traders prefer darker coloured products
dries up and starts peeling off. The surface of
since the consumer believes darker ones are the
the boat makes an imprint on the animals
true sea-cucumbers. Unscrupulous persons re-
bringing down the quality of the final product.
sort to colouring the material with bark of
Nets should not be present on the deck of the
mangroves. This should be avoided and checked.
boats since the animals easily get entangled. As
far as possible the animals should be processed
Odour
soon after they are brought to the shore. If they
Clean and throughly dried product h a s no are kept overnight in fish boxes the animals
odour at all. Care should be taken to see that become weak and this affects the quality of the
moisture content is around 8 to 10%. The product. If they are kept in pens leison due to
product is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture and higher temperature form on the outer skin of
gives a foul and offensive smell. This can be the body wall leading to breakage of the body
avoided by thorough drying aand packing in wall and softening.
polythene bags. Beche-de-mer should never come
in contact with fi-esh water since it spoils the PRECAUTIONS DURING PROCESSING
material.
During processing a number of precautions
IMPROVEMENT IN HANDLING have to be taken to ensure a high quality
product. The sea-cucumbers should not be kept
Handling the catch on board in a proper in sea water and then boiled since heating causes
m a n n e r is foremost in improving the quality of both outside and inside water of the animal to
the product, reducing the losses during process- boil. Pressure builds up inside and the body wall
ing and ensuing cleanliness and hygiene. As bursts. The correct method should be first the
soon as sea-cucumbers are brought to the boat water should be boiled over high flame and the
(PI. I A) a slit of 2 to 3 cm is made through the animals should be introduced one by one. This
cloaca and the animal is held out of the boat way the animals are quickly killed in a few
so t h a t eviscerated material falls into the sea. seconds. The animal assumes cylindrical shape
This way the final product also remains neat which is the most preferred one in the market.
and clean. The sea-cucumbers should never be It is necessary to keep the products well stirred
BULL. CENT. MAM. FISH. RES. INST., 1994; m.

^3
o
D
74 D. B. JAMES

during boiling. The material should be well jute hessain sac after sprinkling water on the sac
rolled during boiling. This makes the product the pit is closed with sand and marked. After
perfectly cylindrical. The shape of the pan used thorough cleaning those which still have white
for boiling also determines the quality. A saucer- patches of calcareous deposits are once again
shaped shallow pan (PI. I B) made of cast iron boiled and the whole process is repeated. In
is most suitable since it distributes heat uni- recent times a de-scummer is designed by
formly to all animals. Aluminium vessel is also Sachithananthan et al. (1975) to remove the
used for hygenic procesing. The most important chalky deposits. About 100 sea-cucumbers can be
factor in boiling is to keep intense heat. cleaned in 5 minutes using a de-scummer with
Slackness or relaxation is detrimental to the a chamber 1 m diameter and 0.45 m in height
product. Eviscerated holothurians should not be and the base plate rotating at a speed of 120
added in bulk to the boiling water since it revolutions per minute motivated by a 3 H. P.
quickly brings down the temperature. They Electric motor. The cleaned product is once again
should be slided along the edges of the saucer- boiled for 45 minutes to kill all the remaining
shaped pan one by one. Cleaning of the sea- bacteria. The product is now put out for drying
cucumbers after boiling is necessary. Fine mud on drjdng platforms or trays in the sun. The
gets embeded in the outer body wall of the dorsal product should never be dried on sand since sand
and lateral surfaces. These have to be removed particles stick to them and are difficult to remove
to have an acceptable product for the market. later and this will bring down the quality of the
The traditional method involves bacterial decom- product. They can also be dried on palmyra mats.
position of the outer layer which scrubbed off" to The product should never be kept out when
remove the outer mud embeded layer and the drizzling. During rainy season smoke driers can
pigmented layer. Bacterial decomposition is be used since the product is hygroscopic it should
activated by allowing the bacteria from the sand be put in the sun now and then to keep the
to odour the sea-cucimiber. After boiling, the sea- moisture level low. However smoked product is
cucumbers are cooled and kept inside pits lined not preferred. Around 8 to 10% moisture content
with gunny bag (PI. I C) on the beach and seems to be the best level.
covered by sand. Bacteria multiply fast and
eventually cover the entire surface of the body PACKING AND FORWARDING
and they penetrate inside the body wall. It is just
enough if the bacteria penetrate 2 mm or so. Packing and forwarding is an important
Therefore duration of time for keeping the sea- aspect in quality control. The product has to be
cucumbers inside the pits is an important factor. packed in cardboard box cartons lined by
If kept for longer period the body wall may polythene. This will help in extending shelf-life
become too soft for further processing. If the and also it is easy to stock them. This way
material is not moist at the time of bxuying, handling during transport is easy and shipping
bacterial action may be slow and decomposition lines also accept them as hold cargo. If they are
inadequate. Proper care should be taken for packed with jute-hessain sacs lined internally
selecting the site for burial. Most beaches near with palm leaves the shipping lines will accept
villages are polluted with faecal matter. Not all only as deck cargo. The product will absorb
beaches are sandy and tidal waters move in and moisture and will be spoiled. The shipping lines
out at certain areas. Therefore clean sandy do not prefer to keep this cargo inside and this
beaches with little himian activity are the best is a limiting factor. The internal lining of palm
sites. First boiling should be for 45 minutes, leaf oven mat protects the product when carried
stirring should be continued at every 3 to 5 in open deck and covered by canvas from sea
minutes interval. The material removed from the spray, rain spray, etc. This is not a desirable
pan should first be allowed to cool on the sand. way of packing. If beche-de-mer could be sealed
The pit for burying should be cleaned, sandy inside the polythene bag Eifter a good day of
beach 100 cm long, 75 cm wide and 30 cm deep drying, the chances of moisture absorption is
and as far as possible with even floor. The sea- reduced. To prevent tear in the bag it could be
cucumbers sould be arranged in single layer and kept inside an appropriate box carton. Storage
they should be packed densely and covered with life of the product could be extended this way.
 IMPROVED PROCESSING METHODS FOR BECHE-DE-MER 75

MALPRACTICES TO BE CHECKED sand-fish with lolly-fish Holothuria atra. Lolly-

fish has toxin which fortunately breaks down
Malpractices have to be checked dm-ing during boiling. In order to make the product free
processing at any cost. In order to increase the from all white chalky material some persons add
weight of the product, processors often resort to hydroxide during second boiling. Such products
processing smaller forms with sand inside. are dangerous to consume from the health point
Apart from getting a low grade product they are of view. Also many holes are found in the
often rejected since they are full of sand inside. material to reduce the value of the product is
Processing smaller forms will deplete the stock lost. At times the processors resort to colouring
since the animals do not have any chance to the material by using the bark of mangroves
breed even once. In order to increase the weight since darker material commands higher price.
of the product, the processors sometimes mix up This malpractice has to be checked.

REFERENCES

DURAIRAJ, S. 1982. Evolving quality standards for beche-de- history and recent revival. Madras Fish. Bull. Hist.,
mer. Seafood Export J., 14 (3) : 19-22. 4 : 119-150.
JAMES, D. B. 1986. Quality improvement in beche-de-mer.
, M. M. NAINAR, M . K. LAINE, R. R. SUDHAKARAN AND
Seafood Export Jour., 18 (3) : 5-10.
S. INBARAJ 1984. Study on the quality of beche-de-mer
in trade and shrinkage of specimens during processing. SACHITHANANTHAN, K., P . NATESAN, C. ALAGARATNAM, A.
Fish. Tech., 21 : 19-34. THEVATHASAN AND P . PHILIP 1975. De-scummer for
beche-de-mer processing. Bull. Fish. Res. Stn., Sri
HORNELL, J. 1917. The Indian beehe-de-mer industry : its Lanka, 26 (122) : 11-15.