Africa > East Africa > Madagascar > Smoked kitoza are the most tasty meats people consume across Madagascar.

Madagascar: Smoked kitoza are the most tasty meats people consume across Madagascar.

2016/01/02

Holidaymakers enjoy having fun, and for a lot of, the holidays mean copious meals and a lot of drinking beyond cultural and religious norms.

In Madagascar, the kitoza is one tasty traditional meat product which is widely appreciated by both locals and foreigners.

It is made of beef or pork strips, 20 to 50 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide, prepared from fillet or thin slices.

Strips of beef or pork are cut from various pieces of meat, added with ingredients and preservatives, macerated (1 to 5 hours) and hung above the fire for smoking (45 minutes to 2 hours).

The meat strips are salted again sun-dried and/or smoked and are sold in butcheries and markets.

Smoked kitozais a tasty product, well accepted by Malagasy people of different social classes and even visiting Europeans.

They are very delicious and Malagasy households normally like to take them at breakfast.

"As a royal meat, the kitoza can be found everywhere in Madagascar. It has huge cultural price in the country," says Prof. Victor Jeannoda, a teacher at the University of Antanarivo.

However, the smoking step could lead to contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are carcinogenic compounds, according to the professor, who is a biochemist.

Part them, Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a good indicator of carcinogenic compound contamination of cooked and smoked meat products.

From presently on health standards stipulate that BaP content in any meat should be below 2µg/kg while that in the kitoza is 6.92µg/kg, which is too much.

AFTER project

Such an observation has pushed Malagasy scientists to re-engineer the smoking techniques for the consumers' safety.

Studies conducted by biochemists at the University of Antananarivo on this aspect come under a project called AFTER (African Food Tradition Revisited by Research (AFTER).

Involving South Africa, Egypt, Benin, Cameroon, Senegal, and Madagascar, the European-funded project has since 2011 been conducted in conjunction with experts from Spain, Portugal, UK, and France.

“For us as researchers in Madagascar, we opted for the kitoza as it has at no time been subjected to extensive studies before AFTER,” said Prof. Danielle Rakoto, who is the foremost scientist responsible for the project in Madagascar.

The objective was to establish the sensory profile of smoked beef and pork kitoza provided by different producers, and their acceptance by Malagasy and European consumers.

The tests local scientists carried out included, part others, lab microbiologic, physicochemical, and organoleptic analyses.

“The absence of salmonella which is a bacterium highly infectious to humans is presently attested,” confirmed Ms Angela Ratsimba, an extra participant.

Over 400 staphylococcus species regarded as microbes with high technological interest intervening in the strips’ preservation were identified in the meantime.

Decreased contamination

As a biochemistry PhD student working on the reengineering of the kitoza smoking, Ms Ratsimba collaborated with the Zazah Ivandry butchery, in Antananarivo, for the redesigning and the modernisation of the smoking units.

“The re-engineering was focused on other parameters inclunding time cooking, type of combustible and air temperature in order to better control water content in the strips,” she explained.

Charcoal is strongly advised for the smoking while sawdust use is bad for health.

In result, scientific intervention has significantly decreased the BaP content which is presently estimated at 0.84±0.42 µg/kg.

“The taste of the traditional kitoza remains well conserved by the way,” the scientists affirmed.

Ms Ratsimba, for her part, expects to defend her doctoral dissertation early in 2016.

Wide application of the newly invented smoking techniques could generate additional profits for small businesses and the whole country someday.

“I plan to export our products to Europe in the coming years. We are unable to do so for presently due to the international ban on Madagascar’s meats," Ms Elie Rahamefy, the Zazah Ivandry butcher’s boss, told Africa Review.

The kitoza consumption could as well, hopefully, be one of the Malagasy tourist attractions amid the soaring cultural globalisation trends.

Patents to the preparation of this traditional meat delicacy of Africa's major island are being elaborated with that purpose in mind.

“The aim is to guarantee the quality of the local products, and to sustain any related socioeconomic activities and benefits,” stressed Prof. Jeannoda.

Having a drink with well smoked strips and other accompaniments during one outdoor party remains one unforgettable experience for those who are willing to try.

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