Portable smokehouse for fish developed

And now, a portable multipurpose smokehouse for fish.

The device was developed by Zaldy A. Fernandez of the Mariano Marcos State University-College of Industrial Technology (MMSU-CIT) in Laoag City. MMSU, headed by Dr. Miriam Pascua, president, is a multicampus university in Ilocos Norte whose seat of administration is the main campus in Batac town.

MMSU conceived the smokehouse following its observation that postharvest loss has remained a major problem among fisherfolk.

During peak season, supply of fish is high but because fishers lack the means and knowledge to preserve or store their catch, these are either just allowed to rot, unconsumed, or thrown away.

In his research titled "Development of Multipurpose Portable Smokehouse Device," Fernandez used stainless galvanized iron sheets and stainless round bars.

The device has a height of 1.83 meters and a circumference of 2.44 meters. It could generate heat of 148.8 degrees Celsius using five kilogram mixture of charcoal, sawdust, and rice hull as fuel.

The device has three main parts: head, body, and combustion chamber.

The head is an inverted cone-type that could create a vacuum force so that the head and smoke generated in the combustion chamber is concentrated in the body of the machine.

The smokehouse has been tested and evaluated by comparing it with the drum-type smoker, which is usually used by fisherfolk to smoke their fishes.

The data gathered were analyzed using the parameters for the standard characteristics of smokers, namely: simplicity of operation, portability, capacity, and cost of return in smoking fish.

There was a big difference between the two devices in terms of fish capacity, fuel usage, time of fuel ignition, temperature, and smoking, it was noted, as reported by Rita T. dela Cruz of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR).

The MMSU-crafted smokeshouse can hold three times (20 kilograms) more than the drum-type device (6 kg).

"Using the same amount of charcoal and sawdust as fuel, the new device can smoke an hour shorter than the convention smoker," Fernandez reported.

One needs P15,000 to produce the smokehouse. – Rudy A. Fernandez