Perera, R.W.M.E.D.Abeyrathne, E.D.N.S.Lalantha, N.2022-01-072022-01-0720159789550481088http://www.erepo.lib.uwu.ac.lk/bitstream/handle/123456789/8208/40-ANS-Development%20of%20Tomato%20%28Solanum%20lycopersicum%29%20Incorporated%20.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yModern consumers prefer processed foods and the changes in consumer life styles have resulted in increasing demands for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook seafood products (Venugopal, 2005). But due to high post-harvest losses and busy life style fish consumption has reduced gradually in Sri Lanka. Therefore value added fish products have become familiar among most consumers (Sri Lanka Fisheries Year Book, 2009). Fish nuggets are formed meat product in ready-to-cook form and it is a good substitute for above situations. Most of the people nowadays concern more about their health and prefer to have healt hier diets. Tomato is considered as one of the healthiest vegetable and fruit in the world (American Cancer Society, 2014). Tomato contains carbohydrates and several vitamins such as Vitamin A, Thiamine, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. In addition, tomatoes possess one of the most powerful antioxidants, lycopene (Choski and Joshi 2007; Kavanaugh et al., 2007). It has shown a wide variety of positive health benefits, including a reduced risk of cancer (American Cancer Society, 2014). Therefore tomato incorporated fish nuggets contain more health benefits and deliciousness due to incorporation of tomato. On the other hand, the production of value added fish products using locally available resources is important for the wide range of consumers and manufactures and it is also important to fulfill the market gap by production of healthier fish based formed meat product in ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat forms. The objective of this research is to develop a tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) incorporated fish nugget with higher levels of antioxidants. Methodology Initially, the basic composition of fish nuggets was determined. The ingredients for fish nuggets were identified and new recipes were formulated based on different fish percentages (30%, 35%, 40% and 45%). After production fish nuggets, a sensory evaluation was carried out using 10 trained panelists to find the best combination. For selection of the best heat treatment for tomatoes, keeping qualities (pH, titratable acidity, moisture content and salt content) and sensory qualities of different heat treated tomato pastes were evaluated. Boiling (10 min, 100 C), microwave-cooking (50 s, 800 W) and steaming (10 min) were selected as the best heat treatments (Kamiloglu et al., 2013). After selecting the best heat treatment for tomatoes, the best level of tomato paste to be incorporated in to the selected fish nugget recipe was determined by a sensory evaluation. Tomato paste was incorporated at 5%, 8%, 12% and 15% (w/w) (Deda et al., 2007). Tomato incorporated fish nugget and fish nugget without tomato incorporation (control) were further analyzed for its physicochemical properties and microbiological quality. Proximate composition, pH value and water holding capacity of the final product were determined. Microbiological analysis was done for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Total Plate Count (TPC) and Yeast and Moulds. Sensory data were analyzed according to the Friedman test using MINITAB 15 software package. Data obtained from melting tests were analyzed by analysis of variance using MINITAB 15 software package. Results and Discussion 45% fish incorporated fish nugget sample was selected as the best sample. According to the sensory evaluation, there was significant difference (p˂0.05) among treatments. Then 45% fish incorporated fish nugget sample was used as the control. According to another sensory evaluation and keeping quality evaluation, boiling (10 min, 100 C) was selected as the best heat treatment for tomato paste. The results of the above mentioned sensory evaluation showed that there was significant difference between different heat treatments of tomato paste related to the quality parameters such as appearance/ color, aroma flavor/ taste and mouth feel (p<0.05). According to the results (Figure 01), there was significant difference between fish nugget samples with different tomato incorporation levels related to the organoleptic properties such as appearance, color, taste, texture and overall acceptability (p<0.05). Finally 12% tomato incorporated fish nugget sample was selected as the best.enAnimal SciencesExport AgricultureAgricultureAquaculture and FisheriesVegetable CultivationOther