Chemical composition and quality of some fish meals in Iran

The raw material freshness and drying methods are determining factors of fishmeal quality. Blue whiting, herring and capelinmeals produced in commercial fish meal processing plants in Iran were obtained. The samples were categorized (according to the freshness of raw fish and processing technique) into three grades (low temperature (LT), Norsea Mink (NSM) and standard). Sampleswere tested for proximate composition. The results obtained indicated that the salt content of LT meal of blue whiting was comparatively higher than all the others and it was significantly higher (p=0.001) in LT meal of herring than in NSM and standard meal. These results suggest that the usage of fresh raw materials, low temperature and low retention time (during drying) for fish meal processing retains quality properties to a greater extent which is useful in the fish feed industry.