Proximate Composition and Mineral Content of Traditionally Dried Fish Products from Selected Parts of Ethiopia

Drying is one of the old aged food preservation techniques that can be done efficiently in a cost-effective way.Rural fish producing areas in Ethiopia commonly use drying technique when the need for preservation is necessitated.Despite the relevance of the information, nutrient composition of dried fish products found in Ethiopia are not well recorded.This study was designed to evaluate the proximate composition and some mineral content of traditionally dried fish from sites located around the lakes of Tana, Ziway and Chamo in Ethiopia.A total of eighteen composite samples were analyzed for proximate composition and mineral content determination.The dried fish products had high crude protein (52.21 to 70.88)%, crude fat (2.89 to 8.60)% and minerals such as Calcium (36.44 to 9078.44 mg/100g), Potassium (636.61 to 3073 mg/100g), Phosphorous (570 to 5330mg/100g) and Sodium (78.92 to 7433.26).Because of difference in water content of the final dried product, variations were observed on the major nutrient compositions.Dried fish products generally proved to be important source of protein, energy and minerals.Besides the composition, dried fish products can be stored for extended time, thus increase accessibility of nutritious food.However, improvement of the drying technique, including hygienic processing is necessary.