THE EFFECTS OF CHILLING AND FREEZING TO THE CRUDE FAT, ASH AND MOISTURE CONTENT OF Channa striata (Bloch, 1793) AND Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Abstract

Crushed ice is commonly used to chill the fish before they are consumed. However, the information about the effects of the use application of cubed ice to maintain the proximate composition of freshwater fish is limited. This research is conducted to investigate the effects of chilling using cubed ice and freezing storage on the crude fat, ash, and moisture content of Channa striata (Bloch, 1793) and Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758) as an alternative source to crushed ice. The fish samples are chilled to four and seven days in the Polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) boxes filled with cubed ice and crushed ice. Before the determination of crude, ash, and moisture content, the samples were frozen for 1 week. Statistical analyses were carried out to indicate the significant difference in the effects of treatment days and physical characteristics of ice towards the proximate composition. The result indicates that there is an indirect relationship between the proximate composition and storage period. Moreover, the result found that cubed ice is superior to crushed ice in maintaining the moisture content (p<0.05). Crushed ice is superior to cubed ice in maintaining the ash content (p<0.05). The research concludes that the effects of physical characteristics of ice vary towards the proximate composition in both fish. The outcomes of this research benefit many parties especially to cubed ice suppliers to support aquaculture industries and the socio-economic sector in Malaysia.

Keywords

• cubed ice
• crushed ice
• channa striata
• clarias batrachus