Diversité et importances socio-économiques et nutritionnelles des petits poissons séchés vendus sur les marchés le long de la RN7 entre Toliara et Antananarivo, Madagascar

Abstract

In Madagascar, small dried fishes (SDF) are abundant and ubiquitous across the Island’s
markets. However, little is known about their cultural and taxonomic diversity, as well as their
nutritional qualities. As an accessible and affordable food source, SDF can contribute to the
reduction of some micronutrient deficiencies that are prevalent on the island. In order to
understand the diversity and nutritional importance of SDF, this study focused on 16 markets
in 12 towns along the RN7 road and this study was carried out between February and December
2022. We combined: (i) a socio-economic survey of 112 vendors on these markets, (ii) a
taxonomic analysis of 131 batches semi-randomly sampled, and (iii) analyses of the
micronutrient and contaminant contents of the consumers 10 most appreciated batches. Our
study characterized 30 distinct varieties of SDF, 10 of which are appreciated for human
consumption, in particular Pirina, Ambotsika and Mena hariva. Although there is great
diversity (233 morpho-species distributed across 110 genera and 60 families), the families
Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Poeciliidae were the most prevalent. The concentration of
micronutrients varied greatly across varieties. However, 100g of the 10 investigated batches
covered the reference daily intake (RDI) of calcium, selenium, phorsphore and chrome for an
adult male, while 100g of half the batches covered the RDI of iron and magnesium. However,
vitamin A was absent from sun-dried varieties (unlike one smoked variety), and some varieties
had important traces of arsenic, cadmium and lead. This study provides a better understanding
of the role that SDF can play in human health and enables us to better target the varieties most
likely to play this role.