Effects of drying Temperatures on the Quality of Three Tilapia Fish Species

The effects of dryingtemperatur es on the quality of three tilapia fish species were reported. The fresh fish samplesobtained from local markets in Ibadan, Nigeria were dried in a convective fish dryer at 60°C , 90°/ 60°C( 90°C at initial stage and later at 60°C) and 90°C drying temperatures. The average microbial load ( Total viable bacteria,total coliform and total fungal counts) obtained from dried Mackerel, Pilchard and Herring for 8hrsduration ranged from 0.15 x 104 to 2.4 x10 4 Colonies per gram sample (cfug - 1 ). Th e Organoleptic analysis revealed that t he attributes (flavour, texture and colour ) of the three species dried at 90°/ 60°C were more appropriate and acceptable. The shelf – life obtained from the dried samples of Mackerel, Pilchard and Herring were 1, 2 and 2weeks; 2, 3 and 5 weeks and 1, 1 and 2 weeks at 60°C , 90°/ 60°C, 90°C drying tempera tures respectively. The results therefore suggested 90°/ 60°C drying temperature for fish drying.