Microflora and Chemical Composition of Momoni, a Ghanaian Fermented Fish Condiment

✍ Scribed by A.I. Sanni; M. Asiedu; G.S. Ayernor

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 109 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0889-1575
• DOI: 10.1006/jfca.2002.1063

✦ Synopsis

A total of 67 microbial strains were isolated from momoni, a Ghanaian fermented fish condiment obtained from retail outlets. The strains belonged to nine genera of micro-organisms namely Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, Pediococcus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Debaryomyces, Hansenula and Aspergillus with Bacillus having a predominant occurrence of 37.7%. Average values of 5.8 Â 10 7 -4.1 Â 10 8 cfu/g were obtained for the microbial count. The chemical constituents of fermented fish condiment were a moisture content of 50%, protein values of 16.8-21.9%, a titratable acidity of 2%, and a pH of above 6.0. The predominant amino acid of the momoni samples was glutamic acid (12.4-14.5%). The high pH and the low level of lactic acid bacteria (10 3 cfu/g) and the high salt content of momoni (294-310/kg) suggest that the fermentation process of the fish condiment is mediated by the endogenous enzymes of the fish rather than the associated micro-organisms.