AQUATIC BIOTECHNOLOGY DA2

AQUACULTURE FOOD PROCESSING IN INDIA

Submitted by
Chelsea Josephine Charles
School of Biosciences and Technology
Submitted to
Dr. Samanta Sekhar Khora
School of Biosciences and Technology

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..3

Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………….2

Significance of Fish in Food Industry….…………………………………………….4

Fish Food Processing and Preservation……...……………………………………….5

Significance of Fish Food Processing..........................................................................5

Types of Fish Processing and Preservation……………………………………….....6

 Drying…………………………………………………………………………6
 Thermal Control……………………………………………………………….7
 Non Thermal Control………………………………………………………….8
 High Pressure Treatment……………………………………………………....8
 Ozonation……………………………………………………………………...8
 Irradiation……………………………………………………………………...8
 Packaging Technologies……………………………………………………….9
 Chemical Fish Preservation Techniques……………………………………….9
 Curing…………………………………………………………………………10
 Smoking………………………………………………………………………10
 Natural antimicrobial preservatives…………………………………………..10

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...11

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...….11

INTRODUCTION

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 Aquaculture is also referred to as fish farming.
Aquaculture is predominantly done in coastal ocean waters,
freshwater ponds and rivers, and even on land in tanks.
Aquaculture is the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fish,
shellfish, algae, and other organisms in all types of water
environments. As the demand for seafood has increased,
technology has made it possible to grow food in coastal
marine waters and the open ocean. This method is simply a
method used to produce food and other commercial products, restore habitat and replenish wild stocks, and
rebuild populations of threatened and endangered species. There are two main types of aquaculture, marine
and freshwater. Marine aquaculture refers to farming species that live in the ocean and estuaries. This is the
controlled process of cultivating aquatic organisms, especially for human consumption.

The first stage in the aquaculture production chain

is the hatchery. This is where the breeding of fish,
hatching of eggs and rearing of fish through the
early life stages happens. Once the animals are
mature enough, they are transferred to the farm,
where they are grown to harvest size, using feed
produced at feed mills (another stage of
aquaculture). The fish are then transported to a
processing facility, where they are packaged and
sent to food retailers and grocery stores. Eating fish is part of the cultural tradition of many people and in
terms of health benefits, it has an excellent nutritional profile. It is a good source of protein, fatty acids,
vitamins, minerals and essential micronutrients. Aquaculture production has grown enormously in recent
years and Penaeid shrimps are one of the most important cultured species worldwide, especially in Asia,
due to their high economic value and export. Indian marine products are principally supported by frozen
shrimp, which is mainly sourced from the coastal aquaculture farms. India farms mainly two varieties of
shrimp — ‘Pacific White Leg Shrimp’ (Litopenaeus vannamei) and ’Indian Black Tiger Shrimp’ (Penaeus
monodon).

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SIGNIFICANCE OF FISH IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY
About 580 aquatic species are currently farmed all over the world, representing a wealth of genetic
diversity both within and among species. Human population growth, rising incomes and preference shifts
will considerably increase global demand for nutritious food in the coming decades. Malnutrition and
hunger still plague many countries and projections of population
and income by 2050 suggest a future need for more than 500
megatonnes (Mt) of meat per year for human consumption.
Despite its relevance as a nutritious food for coastal populations
and its importance for trade with inland communities,
archaeologists have little insight into the methods used for the
long-term processing and preservation of fish in the past. Scaling
up the production of land-derived food crops is challenging,
because of declining yield rates and competition for scarce land and water resources. Land-derived seafood
(freshwater aquaculture and inland capture fisheries; we use seafood to denote any aquatic food resource,
and food from the sea for marine resources specifically) has an important role in food security and global
supply, but its expansion is also constrained. Similar to other land-based production, the expansion of land-
based aquaculture has resulted in substantial environmental externalities that affect water, soil, biodiversity
and climate, and which compromise the ability of the environment to produce food. Aquaculture’s share of
the forage-fish catch has nearly doubled since 2000. It now gobbles up nearly 70 percent of the global fish
meal supply and almost 90 percent of the world’s
fish oil. So hot is the market that many countries are
sending ships to Antarctica to harvest more than
200,000 tons a year of tiny krill—a major food
source for penguins, seals, and whales. Though
much of the krill ends up in pharmaceuticals and
other products, to critics of aquaculture the idea of
vacuuming up the bottom of the food chain in order to
churn out slabs of relatively cheap protein sounds like
ecological insanity.

The India Aquaculture Feed Market was valued at

USD 1.20 billion in 2017 and is expected to register a
CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period (2018-
2023). India feed mills have the capacity to produce
2.88 million metric ton. Andhra Pradesh is the largest feed consuming state in India. The coastal line of the
country is about 7,517 kilometers with 195.20 kilometers of river and canal systems. The country consists

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of 14 rivers, 44 medium rivers, and many small rivers. The country also has tanks and ponds. By these
sources, it is clear that the aquaculture industry is huge in India which provides huge opportunity and
potential for aquaculture feed industry.

FISH FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION

Health, nutrition and convenience are the major factors driving the global food industry in this era. Fish
products have attracted considerable attention as a source of high amounts of important nutritional
Components like high-quality protein, essential vitamins, minerals and healthful polyunsaturated fatty
acids to the human diet. As fish is highly nutritious, it is also highly susceptible to spoilage, due to intrinsic
and extrinsic factors. Proper processing and packaging help in maintaining the eating quality of fish for
extended period. Worldwide, an array of processing and packaging methods are followed. This ranges from
a simple chilled or ice storage, salted and drying to most recent and advanced high pressure and
electromagnetic field applications, which attracts opportunities from both small scale and industrial level
entrepreneurs. Fish products in live, fresh chilled, whole cleaned, fillets steaks, battered and breaded
products, variety of dried products, smoked fish, fish sausage and traditional products are the range of low
cost processing methods which can be readily adopted by small-scale fishers. A fresh product is defined as
the one whose original characters remain unchanged. Spoilage therefore is the indicative of post-harvest
change. Spoilage is usually accompanied by change in physical characteristics. Change in colour, odour,
texture, colour of eyes, colour of gills and softness of the muscle are some of the characteristics observed in
spoiled fish. Spoilage is caused by the action of enzymes, bacteria and chemicals present in the fish.
Preservation can be done, both for short and long duration.

SIGNIFICANCE OF FISH FOOD PROCESSING

 Fish is known for its high perishability nature. The rapid deterioration of quality of fish and other
seafoods after their harvest is mainly due to the various mechanisms of spoilage that takes place. The
spoilage mechanisms associated with such deteriorations are grouped into microbial metabolic activities,
endogenous enzymatic activities and chemical oxidation of lipids, all of which shorten the shelf life of
seafoods. Fish begin to deteriorate as soon as they leave the water.
 It converts raw food into edible, usable and palatable form.
 It helps in preservation and storage of perishable and semi-perishable agricultural commodities.
 It helps in avoiding glut in the market and reduces post-harvest losses and make the produce available
during off-season.
 It generates employment.
 The development of ready-to-consume convenient products which saves time for cooking.
 It helps in improving palatability and organoleptic quality of the produce by value addition and helps in
inhibiting anti-nutritional factors.
 It helps in easing marketing and distribution tasks Training Manual on Value Addition of Seafood.

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 It enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances.
 It makes foods safe for consumption by controlling pathogenic microorganisms.
 The modern food processing also improves the quality of living by way of healthy foods developed for
special people who are allergic to certain ingredients, diabetic etc. who cannot consume some common
food elements.
 The food processing can also bring nutritional and food security.
 It provides potential for export to fetch foreign exchange.
There are several types of Fish food Processing and Preservation Techniques.
† Physical Fish Preservation Techniques
1. Drying
2. Thermal Control method
3. Non Thermal Control
4. High Pressure Treatment
5. Ozonation
6. Irradiation
7. Packaging Technologies
† Chemical Fish Preservation Techniques
1. Curing
2. Smoking
3. Natural antimicrobial preservatives
4. Organic acids
† Microbiological methods of fish preservation
1. Hurdle technology of fish preservation

DRYING
The availability of water or moisture is a critical need for microbial metabolism and growth. The free
water available in the matrix of foods that support the growth of microorganisms is termed as water activity
(aw). High aw level is required for the growth of most microorganisms. The aw level of different
microorganisms is different, majority of the bacterial species being the top based on their requirements for
the highest levels and thus, are the main contributors of fish quality deteriorations. On the other hand, fish
and fishery products are known for their high moisture content in their fresh status which makes them
conducive environments for microbial proliferation. Thus, drying and curing are the oldest, simplest and
widely used preservation methods intended to control the moisture content of food stuffs by lowering their
water activity. The principle of drying preservation method is to remove water from the food matrix and
thus, lower the aw of foods, which in turn arrests microbial activity. The method proved to be effective in
extending the shelf life of fishery products. However, if the drying process is not carried out properly, i.e.,
if the drying is too rapid, it might result in layer hardening (hard texture) and thus affects the palatability
feature of the product undesirably. On the other hand if the drying process is slow, undesirable microbes
might survive and grow.

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Sun drying is the simplest and cheapest method of air drying process
used for foods. It can be done as open sun drying or solar tent drying.
Effective open sun drying depends mainly on the environmental
temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. However, products
dried using this method, are subjected to insects’ and birds
infestations. An alternative method, solar tent drying. The design of
the tent drier is more effective than open sun drying due to its
enclosed structure that absorbs and traps heat inside by the help of black painted rocky stones and
effectively uses it both during the day and night. The design is simple and economically feasible to be used
in the developing countries.

THERMAL CONTROL METHOD (Chilling)

Low temperature treatments are the methods used immediately on board following the harvest of aquatic
products. Chilling includes various forms such as, wet ice, refrigerated seawater (RSW), chilled seawater
(CSW), solid and liquefied forms of carbon dioxide (CO2), liquid nitrogen, and chill air. The preservative
effect of chilling is due to its ability to reduce the growth rate of spoilage microorganisms and their
metabolic activities and thus maintains the post–harvest quality changes to the minimum. Such treatments
can extend the shelf life of fish and fishery products only for days, as certain endogenous autolytic
enzymes and proteolytic enzymes produced by contaminant microbes can deteriorate the quality in a short
time period.
 In RSW, the product is cooled to a temperature much lower than the melting ice treatment. This is due
to the reduced freezing point of seawater attributed to the presence of salts. Thus, RSW has been used
as a better option for chilling operations onboard of fishing vessels for its greater cooling rate, reduced
pressure and physical damage on fish, less exposure to oxygen as well as more rapid handling of large
quantities of fish with little delay or labor involvement, and in many cases, an extended shelf life.
 Freezing has been used as a long term preservation
technique for decades. Fish and other meat foods were
reported to keep for months under proper frozen
storage. The treatment retards microbial growth and
enzymatic activity in fish to a greater extent when
compared to chilling and thus, preserves the flavor and
nutritional properties better. This involves exposing fish
products to very low temperature (<- 350C) to enable
freezing of free water and maintained at -180C till it is
consumed. Plate freezing, air blast freezing, cryogenic freezing and individual quick freezing are the
methods adopted by the industry to preserve food products.
Disadvantages of Thermal Control

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 In the RSW method, the high chance of spread of spoilage microbes in the circulating water, excessive
uptake of salt, uptake of water by low fat species, loss of protein and problems with anaerobic bacteria
are non–negligible drawbacks.
 The formation of ice crystals during Freezing has been observed to affect the quality of frozen
products. With the formation of large crystals, textural damage and membrane disruption with
subsequent oxidation

NON THERMAL CONTROL METHODS

Non–thermal physical preservation approaches employed in the seafood industry include: high pressure
processing, packaging technologies, irradiation, ozonation, as well as pulsed electric fields and oscillatory
magnetic fields treatments. Of these, there are insufficient reports on the preservative potential and
suitability of the latter two in their use on fish and fishery products. The term advanced oxidation process is
often used to describe treatments such as, ozonation and ultraviolet (UV) irradiations, to refer to the
processes that involve oxidation processes used to eliminate inorganic and organic contaminants and
pollutants with the help of reactive free radicals produced by ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2),
titanium oxide (TiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), and UV radiations.

HIGH PRESSURE TREATMENTS

High pressure treatments have almost same effect on microorganisms and enzymes as high temperature
treatments. These technologies are based on the observation that microorganisms are inactivated due to
lethal structural and biochemical alterations caused to the cells as a result of residence under such high
pressures. cell deformation and damage associated with high pressure treatments were reported to be
reversible with treatments in the range of 100–300Mpa. However, these treatments fail to inactivate
resistant bacterial spores. Such spores require pressure treatments as high as 1200MPa for their
inactivation.
The synergistic effect of high pressure treatment at 200MPa and sub–zero temperature treatment to have
inhibitory effect on Listeria monocytogenes in smoked salmon. They have also observed lightening of
color and toughening of texture of the product as undesirable outcomes.

OZONATION
Ozone has been studied for its potential in disinfecting and
improving the sensory quality of seafoods. The Antimicrobial effect
of ozone depends on its concentration, contact time, temperature and
the production system used. The low concentrations of ozone in
solutions can decrease the half–life of ozone and thus weakening its
bactericidal effect.

IRRADIATION
Irradiation in foods is described in three different ways that do not involve heat treatments. Radurization
(cold pasteurization) involves the use of low doses (<1kGy) which inactivates non–spore forming bacteria.

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Radicidation reduce the number of viable and non–spore forming pathogenic bacteria and parasites using
intermediate doses (2–8kGy). Radappertization (cold sterilization) is used to eliminate highly pathogenic
bacteria such as, Clostridium botulinum at high doses (>10kGy). Irradiation doses of 1.0 to 2.0kGy is
suggested for the effective elimination of contaminant micro–organism in raw fish and seafood dishes.
Low dose irradiation has also proved to be effective for fish preservation when applied in combination with
chilling or heating processes.
Disadvantages : The Destruction of large populations of bacterial spores requires high doses of radiation.
Medium doses of 4–10kGy can induce undesirable sensor changes, mainly off flavors in fish and fishery
products. Thus, irradiation processes fail to achieve both, complete elimination of all types of
microorganisms and maintain sound organoleptic characteristics at the same time.

PACKAGING TECHNOLOGIES
Packaging technologies involving either the replacement of
air by certain gases (such as, CO2, O2, N2 or combination of
all) or removal of air and thus reducing the headspace to
possible minimum has been used in the preservation of muscle
and plant foods. Such packages are often termed as modified
atmosphere packaging (MAP) and vacuum packaging (VP). The
use of packaging material with low gas and water permeability
is very crucial in such technologies in order to prevent the
exchange of gases between the interior and exterior of the packaged product and thus maintain the right
atmospheric conditions around the product. The preservative effect of such technology is based on the
atmospheric condition they create around the product. This condition establishes a significant hurdle for
most strictly aerobic and facultative spoilage microorganisms.

CURING
Curing is referred to the addition of salt, sugar, nitrites, nitrates,
seasonings or spices and phosphates to preserve food stuff. In
addition to preservation, this particular processing can result in a
characteristic color and flavor of the cured products. Salt has
been the most widely used ingredient for curing of meat foods. Its
main antimicrobial mode of action is creating a low water activity
environment in the food which forces microorganisms to experience
prolonged lag phase and eventually enter the death phase. Although
this preservation method is one of the oldest and simplest fish
preservation methods, the growth of halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms cannot be arrested and
often their growth produce white patches on the fish fillets. Moreover, salting has also been reported to be
as a pro-oxidant agent in several meat and seafood products.

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SMOKING
Smoking is a means of chemical preservation applied to meat
foods. Although the process involves heat treatment to some
extent, the preservative weight is attributed to its chemical
products. It has been reported that smoking has both
antimicrobial and antioxidant effects. The combined effect of
phenolic compounds produced during smoking process and the
high temperature condition result in reduced microbial growth
and oxidation. Moreover, carbonyl compounds produced during
the process can contribute to the characteristic color, texture and
fishy odor of the product. Thus, the preservation objectives of smoking include, surface drying which acts
as a barrier for microbial invasions; reduces water activities resulting from the pretreatment process with
salt; deposition of phenolic compounds which aid in delaying autoxidation of fish lipids and deposition of
antimicrobial substances (such as, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, acids, hydrocarbons, esters, phenols,
ethers, etc.).
Two methods of smoking are practiced for fishery products, cold smoking and hot smoking, depending on
the temperature used. Products treated with cold smoking is carried out at around 30°C following salting
and drying treatment of fish muscle. Smoked salmon is a common product prepared by this treatment and
eaten raw. Hot smoking on the other hand, involves treatment
at a temperature range of 70–80°C and results in cooked
product that do not require subsequent processing. Although
smoked lean fish are preserved longer compared to fatty fish,
fumigation, storage temperature and salt content, are
determinant factors of the shelf life of smoked products.
Several reports have been produced on the effect of smoking
on various fish species. The traditional smoking process is
carried out by direct exposure of foods to smoke. However,
such treatments can lead to the accumulation of harmful substances (such as, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs)) which result from incomplete combustion of wood. These compounds have
potential adverse effects on human health. The high possibility of uneven distribution of volatile
compounds on the fish flesh treated by direct exposure to smoke, which can affect the quality of the end
product undesirably.

NATURAL ANTIMICROBIAL PRESERVATIVES

Naturally occurring antimicrobial substances such as essential oils (EOs) and extracts of various plants,
spices, and herbs are reported to have effective activity against a number of pathogenic and spoilage
microorganisms associated with foods. A comprehensive detail of major components of EOs including,
carvacrol, thymol, g–terpinene and p–Cymene (oregano and thyme), a–pinene, bornyl–acetate, camphor

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and 1,8–cineole (rosemary), eugenol and eugenyl acetate (clove, etc.) has been reviewed by Burt. These
natural extracts have been incorporated in the packaging materials as well as edible films and coatings to
enhance the keeping quality of minimally processed and delicate foods such as meat, fish and fruits

CONCLUSION
Fish preservation and processing is a very important aspect of the fisheries. Normally the fish farms
or other fish capturing sites are located far off from the market place and there is chance of fish
decomposition and the uncertainties of their sale in market. When the fishes are caught in numbers, greater
than the amount of consumption, their preservation becomes a necessity for their future use.
Preservation and processing, therefore become a very important part of commercial fisheries. It is done in
such a manner that the fishes remain fresh for a long time, with a minimum loss of flavour, taste, odour,
nutritive value and the digestibility of their flesh. The preservation and processing of fishes should be taken
seriously by all as to avoid wasting of the fish products

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Mohan, C.O., Kumar, K.A. and Ravishankar, C.N., 2018. Fish processing and preservation
technologies: an overview.
 Mahmud, A., Abraha, B., Samuel, M., Mohammedidris, H., Abraham, W. and Mahmud, E., 2018. Fish
preservation: A multi-dimensional approach. MOJ Food Process. Technol, 6, pp.303-310.
 https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/preserving-fish-safely#freezing-fish-125710
 Nwaigwe, U.V., 2017. Fish preservation and processing. J. Food., pp.1-31.
 https://www.fao.org/3/s4863e/s4863e09.htm
 Costello, C., Cao, L., Gelcich, S., Cisneros-Mata, M.Á., Free, C.M., Froehlich, H.E., Golden, C.D.,
Ishimura, G., Maier, J., Macadam-Somer, I. and Mangin, T., 2020. The future of food from the sea.
Nature, 588(7836), pp.95-100.
 https://www.fao.org/3/t8598e/t8598e05.htm
 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190924161744.htm
 Lehane, S., 2013. Fish for the future: aquaculture and food security. Future Directions International Pty
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