Dried meat or dried fish refers to those products even if they are also frequently salted, fermented and/or smoked. In fact, as drying is not always sufficient to stabilise the products, processes combine the inhibitory effects on microorganisms of chemical compounds: NaCl has a dual effect of lowering the water activity (aW) and a specific inhibitory effect of the Na+ ion. Phenolic compounds of smoke inhibit oxidation reactions and organic acids and bacteriocins are produced by lactic acid bacteria during fermentation.

Lack of knowledge about the sequence of the unit operations, non-controlled processes and lack of equipment adapted involve wide variations of the stability and quality of traditional products. Due to the high degree of smoking, traditional smoked products show a dark colour and a specific flavour that meet consumers’ specific requirements. However, a strong deposit of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) on the surface of the food leads to a public health hazard.

The project focuses on one meat product (Kitoza) in Madagascar (also known as Biltong in South Africa) and two fish products (Lanhoin & Kong) in West Africa.

Kitoza

Kitoza  is a salted/dried meat (usually beef). Depending on the process conditions, the fermentation can be spontaneous. Sometimes, it is smoked in order to improve organoleptic and self-stability properties. It is a traditional product of Madagascar. It is also known as Biltong  in Southern Africa.

Lanhouin

Lanhouin  is a salted/dried fish (Cassava fish, Pseudotolithus sp. ) spontaneously fermented. It is widely used as a condiment in Benin, Togo, and Ghana.

Kong

Kong  (Catfish, Arius heudelotii)  is traditionally smoked in Senegal for local and export markets. Such smoked fishes are not voluntarily fermented; however, a spontaneous fermentation step often takes place in the process of traditional dried fish.