The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has started training fishing communities in West Africa on the use of its new technology for smoking fish: the FAO-Thiaroye Technique (FTT).
The innovation in fish smoking was introduced in Ghana in 2014 to address the weaknesses of the existing ovens such as the Chorkor Smoker with regards to food safety and the drudgery associated with the traditional smoking methods.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation explains that the technology has an overarching goal of reducing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for smoked fish and also to ensure food safety and minimize post-harvest losses among small-scale fishers.
At a regional capacity building to empower African Women and Youth with FAO Thiaroye at Elmina in the Central region, Omar Penarubia of the FAO explained that the major concerns of the FAO are the presence of PAHs’ in smoked fish, handling and storage to ensure food safety and consumer health.
The FTT is an advanced processing technology designed from the strengths and weaknesses of the existing improved traditional smoking kilns; Chorkor and Banda. It has additional accessories and devices that can easily be installed on these kilns to improve fish smoking, he said.