Radiation physics and chemistry effect of smoking and gamma irradiation on the nutritional and sensory quality of Atlantic chub mackerel in Ghana

This study investigated the nutritional, color and sensory quality of smoked and irradiated Atlantic chub mackerel. Smoking significantly decreased the moisture but increased the protein contents. The total saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were significantly increased (p < 0.05) while the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) by smoking. The lipid quality indices, atherogenic index (AI) and index of thrombogenicity (TI) were below 1.0, indicating potential reduced risks of atherosclerosis and coronary thrombosis from consuming these products. The polyene index (PI) was greater than 1.0, implying a high retention of PUFAs in the products. All amino acids, significantly increased after smoking. The ratio of essential amino acid (EAA) to non-essential amino acid (NEAA), in all cases, was all greater than 1. Irradiation at 1.5 and 3 kGy had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the nutritional (except in EAA of 3 kGy samples relative to smoked samples), color and sensory quality of the smoked fish.