Comparative Study on the Sensory Quality of Oreochromis Niloticus Smoked using Modified Drum, Futy, and Traditional Market Kilns

Abstract This study evaluated the sensory qualities of Oreochromis niloticus processed with three different smoking kilns: the modified drum kiln, FUTY kiln, and traditional market smoking kiln. Thirty (30) fish samples were randomly chosen and evenly assigned to the three processing methods. The fish were gutted, cleaned, and smoked according to standard smoking procedures. A semi-trained panel of fifteen members assessed the smoked samples based on taste, texture, appearance, colour, aroma or rancidity, and overall acceptability, using a seven-point hedonic scale. Results indicated similar ratings for taste and texture among the treatments, with fish processed using the modified drum kiln and FUTY kiln (5.05 and 4.98, respectively) performing better than those from the traditional market kiln (4.88). Appearance scores were uniform across all treatments (6.00), while the modified drum kiln samples recorded the highest aroma score (6.01) and a slightly higher overall acceptability (5.31), closely matched by FUTY (5.36). The traditional market samples showed lower values, especially for aroma (4.50) and overall acceptability (4.70). Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, revealing significant differences at p < 0.05 with a low standard error of the mean (SEM), signifying strong agreement among panelists. These findings highlight the advantage of improved smoking technologies.