Abstract
The present study was designed to investigate the post-harvest chemical and microbial changes in the meat/muscle of Labeo
rohita kept under storage conditions including icing, salting and sun-drying for the period of 0, 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days. The
chemical and microbial analysis of fish meat was performed and the results revealed that after 30 days of storage, the moisture
contents (21.27±0.34 to 79.10±1.85%) and total volatile base nitrogen (21.74±0.33 to 26.20±0.50 mg/100g) were higher in
icing and lower in sun-drying condition while crude protein (16.00±0.10 to 59.30±0.21%), crude fat (1.50±0.04 to
10.83±0.08%) and pH (6.90±0.07 to 7.98±0.06) were observed higher in sun-drying and lower in icing condition. Ash
contents (1.52±0.02 to 25.40±0.10%) and protein solubility (40.23±0.03 to 48.10±0.35%) of fish meat were found higher
in salting condition while ash contents and protein solubility were lower in icing and sun-drying conditions, respectively.
Microbial analysis of fish meat showed maximum total plate count (TPC) 5.81±0.03 log10 CFU/g in sun-drying and
minimum TPC 4.16±0.05 log10 CFU/g in salting condition. All results were found significant at p<0.05. These findings
could benefit all the stakeholders to formulate laws and promote the application of the improved methods and good handling
practices to minimize post-harvest losses.
