Powdered seafood products such as fish and prawn chutney powders are widely consumed as flavoring agents and value-added products. While drying extends shelf life, dried seafood products remain vulnerable to microbial contamination, moisture ingress, and lipid oxidation. A systematic risk-based evaluation helps to prioritize quality control measures, identify high-risk batches, and to execute corrective actions. This study evaluates the microbial safety, physicochemical quality, and potential health risks associated with commercially available fish and prawn chutney powders. A comprehensive analysis of 73 samples was conducted, assessing parameters such as protein, moisture, fat, ash, water activity,) Tri Methyl Amine (TMA), Total Volatile Base Nitrogen (TVBN), Peroxide value (PV) Free Fatty Acids (FFA), Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substance Value (TBARS), microbial load, Spoilage microorganism, bacteria of public health significance and pathogenic microorganism a and histamine concentration. Additionally, heavy metal and elemental profiles were examined. The findings reveal significant variability in quality indicators and microbial contamination, necessitating a risk-based categorization to inform consumer safety and regulatory oversight.
Numeric parameters were min–max normalized (0–1), aggregated into a 1–5 risk score per sample, and categorized as Low, Medium, or High risk. The study identified samples with elevated risk associated primarily with higher microbial counts and moisture-related instability. No major human pathogens were detected in any of the samples studied.
A combined min–max normalization and aggregated scoring approach produced intuitive 1–5 risk scores and categorical flags (Low/Medium/High) useful for routine quality control. Water activity and moisture content are major determinants of microbial stability in dried fish products. No major human pathogens were detected in the analyzed dataset, suggesting a low imminent consumer food safety concern for the tested samples. Implementing improved drying and packaging practices is expected to reduce higher-risk samples and enhance shelf stability.
Keywords
Risk scoring; Risk Categorization, Chutney powder, microbial quality, water activity, food safety