STUDY ON THE UTILITY OF FARMED GREEN MUSSEL Perna viridis IN THE PRODUCTION OF SNACK PRODUCT

Now a days snacks food has become a significant part of the diet of many individuals, especially children. The purpose of this study is to place cheap and wholesome snack to the consumers. An underutilized species which is widely distributed in our coast which has high nutritive value is green mussel (Perna viridis). This study was intended to develop a snack product utilizing cultured green mussel meat. Mussel cracker was prepared by blending mussel meat along with tapioca (60%), Corn (15%) and Sago (15%). The prepared crackers were sun dried and Cabinet dried, packed in LDPE pouches and stored in ambient temperature.

The Products were subjected to proximate analysis and sensory evaluation to determine nutritive value and consumer acceptance. The samples were examined for their physico functional properties like linear expansion, volume expansion, oil absorption and crispiness. The water absorption index & water solubility index were also estimated for the prepared mussel cracker. The storage studies were conducted for 3 months. During storage peroxide value, TVBN, moisture content, crispiness, organoleptic evaluation, Total Plate Count, Total Fungal Count were analyzed at an interval of 30 days. Mussel cracker dried in cabinet dryer was found superior in quality when compared to sun dried. The result shows that the samples are safe and shelf table for a period of 3 months.