Fish Microbiology and Quality Assurance

Unit 4 - Food preservation techniques and microorganisms

4.3.1. Fish drying
Small fishes are dried whole without any processing while, large fish are dried by cutting open or cutting to small pieces to ensure faster drying. Fish may be salted or not salted before drying. After drying, fish are packed and stored for later consumption as human food. The storage stability or shelflife of dried fish depends on factors such as quality of the raw material used, extent of drying and storage conditions to which fish is exposed after drying.

Categories of dried foods
Dried foods are generally divided in to 2 categories based on moisture content. They are,
Low moisture foods: These foods do not contain moisture level more than 25%, and have a_w of 0.6 or less. These foods have better keeping quality and shelflife.
Intermediate moisture foods (IMF): These contain 15-50% moisture and aw between 0.60 and 0.85.Ex: Dried fruits, cakes etc.