I. Why Make Dried Fish
Bangladesh has a very good source of marine resources as a south Asian country. It is reported in 2014 by FAO that total output of aquaculture products in Bangladesh has increased to 35 million tons. Aquaculture production in Bangladesh has shown an average growth of 28% every year. Bangladesh is rich with fish, and fish constitute an important part of Bangladesh food culture. Fish is prone to be deteriorated and it is often dried for longer preservation. Also fish with a low-fat content is the best candidate for drying. Fish drying in Bangladesh is the common and profitable business.
1.Advantages of Fish Drying in Bangladesh
●Fish drying is necessary for Bangladesh fish production. Quantities of fish cannot be sold in time due to some reasons, and fish is an extremely perishable food item. So fish drying is the lucrative option for farmers to keep fish longer for future use.
●Dried fish is highly concentrated fish compared to other preserved form of fish, which is convenient to its transportation.
●Moreover reduced water content, enzymatic and many chemical processes which are responsible for fish spoilage retarded.
●In industrial fish drying, the dried fish is added other delicious spices to achieve different flavor from the fresh fish.
2. Great Demand
II. Two Types of Fish Drying
Generally, there are two types of fish drying like sun drying-the traditional way and the microwave drying-the industrial way. Microwave drying is comparatively complicated than sun drying, and microwave drying equipment is required. But microwave drying can remain fish drying at a stable temperature and achieve high-quality drying effect. The traditional sun drying is less expensive and comparatively simple than microwave drying, but it has lots of disadvantages as follows. Here let us see the sun drying disadvantages.
1. Disadvantages of Sun Drying
Sun drying, the old and simple way of fish drying, is a method of food preservation that works by removing water content from the fish body. Though sun drying has some advantages like economical and simple, it has some disadvantages. The major problem is that sun drying is hampered if bad weather continues for a long time resulting in the deterioration. Some problems with sun drying are as follows:
● Fish drying can only be done when bright sunlight is available. And it is out of control in operation like relative humidity, the temperature.
● Long drying period. Sun drying is to take advantage of the sun and natural air to carry away the evaporated water from the fish body. So the drying speed depends on the weather and it takes several days or more.
● In sun drying, the possibility of contamination with dust, sand, infestation with insects, their eggs and larvae is high.
● The quality of final dried fish is not good in most situations due to the above disadvantages.
2. The Process of Dried Fish Made by Microwave Drying Machine
III. Current Fish Drying Situation in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, dried fish is made in large quantity and there are some conspicuous problems occurred in the drying process:
● Lots of fish in bad quality are used as raw materials.
● Raw fish is not cleaned well. Inadequate washing doesn’t remove the gills and internal organs.
● The drying process is not hygienic. People associated with this process used unclean intensives.
● Use of insecticides at a high rate to avoid insect infestation, which damage the product quality and this does bad for human health.
Dried fish production provides livelihoods and incomes for a large number of people in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the common way of fish drying is sun drying and there are some conspicuous food security problems occurred. So better equipment needed to help sustain the important livelihood with respect to food security. So microwave fish drying machine is a wise choice, which can greatly improve the working conditions and drying efficiency. If you are interested in the microwave drying in Bangladesh, please feel free to contact us. And further recommendation and help will be offered by our salesperson.
