Three Different packaging materials of (37cm x 25cm) size (Sealed Transparent Polythene Bag (STPB), Sealed Paper Bag (SPB), Open Mouth Polythene Bag (OMPB)) were used for each of Oreochromis niloticus, Clarias gariepinus and Mormyrus rume. Twenty fish samples per species (averaging 250gm) collected from Asejire Dam, Ibadan were hot smoked for 36hours at an average temperature of 100oC. Six fish of each species were packaged hot and stored for 12 weeks. There were significant differences (P<0.05) between the proximate composition of the fish treatments assessed. SPB had the best Crude Protein (CP) of 51.94±0.04% for C. gariepinus (SPBC) and least in M. rume (SPBM) (48.86±0.06%). The fresh fish CP of 29.40±0.04% (C. gariepinus) was condensed to 50.93±0.03% (initial smoked) and ranged between 51.94±0.04% (SPBC) to 52.86±0.02% (OMPBC). SPB packaging was the best for all the three fish samples in the study, C. gariepinus and O. niloticus stored better than M.rume.
Keywords: Hot smoked, Proximate Composition, cold smoked, packaging material
