ABSTRACT
Bêche-de-mer (dried sea cucumbers) is considered as one of the most luxurious seafood in the world. The market demand for bêche-de-mer mainly depends on species and product quality. This study is aimed at assessing the effect of different processing methods on the product quality and nutritional composition of bêche-de-mer. Three sea cucumber species, Stichopus naso, Holothuria spinifera, and Bohadschia vitiensis, dominant in the commercial catches of Sri Lanka, were processed by following widely practiced local processing methods where 24, 48, and 24 different processing combinations were tested for each species, respectively. Bêche-de-mer satisfying the export quality were selected by considering their appearance and overall ranking made by exporters (9 individuals per each combination). The proximate composition of these products was assessed using standard methods. According to the exporters' prioritization, very few processing methods used in this study resulted in the export-quality bêche-de-mer. Both product quality and proximate composition showed considerable variations with respect to the processing methods. It is proved that even a very small change in one processing step could lead to produce poor-quality products. Processing methods are species specific, and it is important to select the most appropriate method for each species to produce high-quality bêche-de-mer.
ABSTRACT
Sea cucumbers are considered healthy and high in nutritive value. Conversely however, limited consumption of sea cucumbers has been reported in many parts of the world. This study was done to produce a ready-to-prepare soup mix incorporating the sea cucumber aiming to popularize the sea cucumber consumption. The highly abundant low-value Bohadschia vitiensis in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka was selected to prepare this soup mix. Fresh B. vitiensis samples (n = 250) were collected from major sea cucumber landing sites of the northwest coast. Out of the seven compositions prepared initially, three compositions; 20%, 40% and 60% were selected. The best composition among these was selected through a sensory test performed using a semi-trained panel (n = 30) at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. The initial chemical and microbial qualities of the selected soup mix were analyzed and the best packaging material was selected. Results showed that the soup mix with 40% sea cucumber flour was the best composition as it reported significantly higher sensory scores than the other two mixes (p ≤ 0.05, Friedman). This soup mix exhibited high protein (21.43 ± 1.21%), low fat (4.98 ± 0.23%) and its oxygen radical absorbance capacity was 1.04 ± 0.13 mg Trolox equivalents/g. Coliforms and Staphylococcus aureus colonies were absent in the soup mix. The total plate count (1.9 × 102 CFU/g), yeast and mold count (0.7 × 102 CFU/g) and the heavy metal contents were within the safe limit for human consumption. The Polyester-Aluminum-PE was selected as the best packaging material which ensured 6 weeks storage time at room temperature.
ABSTRACT
Processing and its impacts on proximate composition and fatty acid profile of six sea cucumber species; Bohadschia marmorata, Stichopus chloronotus, Holothuria spinifera, Thelenota anax, Holothuria scabra and Bohadschia sp. 1 collected from the northwest coast of Sri Lanka were analyzed. Sea cucumbers are processed into bêche-de-mer by both domestic and industrial level processors following the similar steps of cleaning, evisceration, first boiling, salting, second boiling and drying. However, domestically processed bêche-de-mer always reported a higher percentage of moisture, crude ash, crude fat and lower percentage of crude protein than industrially processed products. Although processing resulted in a significant reduction of total SFA and MUFA in fresh individuals of most of these species, total PUFA increased significantly in processed individuals excluding Bohadschia species. Palmitic acid was found to be the most dominant fatty acid in all these species followed by eicosapentaenoic acid, which showed a significant increase in processed products, except Bohadschia sp. 1. Total MUFA were higher than total SFA in all sea cucumber species having exceptions in Bohadchia sp.1 and fresh S. chloronotus. These findings will make a significant contribution to fill the gaps in existing information as no any previous information is available for species like H. spinifera and S. chloronotus.
