Fish processors in six coastal and inland fishing communities have undergone training on improved fish smoking technologies, food safety and hygienic fish handling as part of efforts to reduce harmful contaminants in smoked fish.
That is also to reduce exposure to air pollution and enhance livelihood.
The training programmes, organised by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Food Research Institute (CSIR-FRI), were held at Vodza in the Volta Region, Saltpond-Ankaful in the Central Region, Ahwiam and Joma in the Greater Accra Region, and Akosombo and Kpong in the Eastern Region.
Professor Charles Tortoe, Director, CSIR-FRI, said the training formed part of an ongoing study comparing the performance of the traditional Chorkor oven, the retrofitted Chorkor oven and the modified Ahotor oven.
The programme sought to build the capacity of fish processors on the operation and maintenance of improved smoking ovens, promote safe fish handling practices and increase awareness of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), chemical contaminants that can form during fish smoking.
Participants, most of whom were women engaged in artisanal fish processing, received practical instruction on hygienic fish handling from landing site to storage, including personal hygiene, prevention of cross-contamination, proper packaging and maintaining clean processing environments.
Dr Atter said discussions during the training revealed that most fish processors had little or no prior knowledge of PAHs and their potential health implications.
She explained that PAHs were harmful compounds produced when fuelwood burns incompletely, when fish fluids/oil drip directly onto burning fuelwood, long smoking durations, and the use of softwood for smoking.
Dr Atter said, prolonged consumption of foods containing high levels of PAHs might increase the risk of certain cancers and other health conditions.
“It will be a dream come true to minimise contamination, including the use of clean fuel sources such as gas or charcoal, avoiding excessive flames, maintaining appropriate smoking temperatures and adopting” she added.
She said participants were taught the importance of value addition, business management, packaging and labelling of smoked fish products as well as basic record-keeping practices to improve access to credit.
Dr Amy Atter, a Principal Research Scientist at CSIR-FRI, said major component of the programme involved practical fish-smoking demonstrations using Sardinella and tilapia sourced from the same suppliers to ensure consistency during testing.
She noted equal quantities of fish were smoked for a given duration in the traditional Chorkor oven, the retrofitted Chorkor oven and the modified Ahotor oven under the same conditions, allowing participants to compare their performance.
The demonstrations, Dr Atter explained showed that the retrofitted Chorkor and modified Ahotor ovens consumed less firewood than the traditional Chorkor oven while producing smoked fish with a more attractive appearance and cleaner finish.
Mrs. Doris Hagan Opokua, Center Manager, Akosombo Zone, Fisheries Commission, urged processors to embrace innovations that improve food safety while protecting public health and increasing profitability.
She noted that safer smoking technologies would benefit not only consumers but also the processors’ own families, who often consumed the smoked fish produced at home.
Mrs Hagan Opokua encouraged participants to share the knowledge gained with other processors in their communities to help improve standards across the sector.
The training forms part of the international “Reimagining Food Systems for Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Social Justice” project, under the Small Fish for Climate Change initiative, which is being implemented in several countries across Africa and India.
In Ghana, the research is being undertaken by CSIR-FRI in partnership with the University of Bergen in Norway, with funding support from the Research Council of Norway.
