Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 3, No.

5, December 2015
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Asia Pacific Journal of

Production and Acceptability of Sea Urchin Multidisciplinary Research
Bagoong Vol. 3 No.5, 25-28
December 2015 Part IV
P-ISSN 2350-7756
Helen G. Viray1, Edzhel Jane P. Arconcil1,
E-ISSN 2350-8442
Weenalei T. Fajardo2*, Lina T. Cancino2 www.apjmr.com
Pangasinan State University-Lingayen, Philippines
weena_lei@yahoo.com1

Date Received: November 3, 2015; Date Revised: December 15, 2015

Abstract - Bagoong production is potential export industry in the Philippines concentrated in

Lingayen, Pangasinan. The municipality was labeled as the best place for bagoong making because of its
perfect composition of salt humidity in air. The paste is produce using several varieties of fish such as
galonggong, tamban, padas, sapsap and monamon. However, because of the decreasing number of fish
caught in the waters of Pangasinan is not enough to support the increasing demand of market. Thus, there
is a need to use alternatives for bagoong making.
Sea urchin industry is a growing market in Bolinao, Pangasinan because of its availability due to
management plan of the municipality to sustain its number. The research used sea urchin as raw
ingredient instead of fish for the production of fish paste. However, three formulations were made to
identify the best preparation of the sea urchin bagoong. It was found out that the Formulation 3 which has
three cups of salt and one kilogram of sea urchin had the highest acceptability descriptive rating.
Moreover, there was no significant difference among various formulations and the control indicating that
the sensorial characteristics used to measure its acceptability were similar to the commercially produced
bagoong. However, there was a concern on the smell of the sea urchin paste. Nevertheless, its taste was
perceived to be similar compared to bagoong-isda.
Keywords:Bagoong, sea urchin, acceptability, sensorial characteristics, fish paste

INTRODUCTION
Fish paste or bagoong is a popular condiment in preferred by the Pangasinanbagoong producers
the Philippines which is part of most of the native because of the better taste of the fish sauce. Bagoong
dishes in the country. It is considered as one of the does not only add flavor to certain dishes, but also a
basic necessities for most Filipinos especially those in good low-cost source of protein including mineral
Pangasinan and in the Ilocos Region. Further, it is one salts, Vitamin A, calcium and niacin [2].
of the established industries in Region I which made it Also, because of the depletion of fish particularly
a good export commodity [1], [2]. anchovy in Pangasinan most of these industries opted
Moreover, bagoong making is a thriving industry to secure fish from neighboring provinces. In the
of the town of Lingayen, Anda, Bani, Infanta, Bolinao Philippines, the use of sea urchin as a food resource,
and Binmaley[3]. There are 65 registered operators of although, considered on its rising stage, is considered
bagoong plants with a combined production of as resource enhancement tool to address the severe
approximately 659 metric tons in 1974. Lingayen has depletion of the resource due to excessive gathering of
the most number with 32 out of the 65 manufacturers wild stocks [6]. Moreover, Juinio-Meñes [7]
present [4]. The municipality of Lingayen is hailed as compared the utilization of sea urchin in Nalvo, Sta.
the best place for bagoong production because of its Maria, Ilocos Sur and Bolinao, Pangasinan. Results of
perfect composition of salt humidity in air [4]. their study showed that in Nalvo, sea urchins are a
Pangasinanbagoong producers use several fish regular part of the local diet or sold whole at the local
species for the substrate like galonggong, tamban, market; while in Bolinao, sea urchins are harvested
padas, sapsap and others. Currently, they are not primarily for export in which gonads are shucked
using monamon (anchovies) because they claim that from whole urchins and marketed fresh or in brine to
this species is quite expensive although it is most local buyers for Manila-based exports.In addition, as

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 Viray et al., Production and Acceptability of Sea Urchin Bagoong
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cited by Juinio-Meñes, et.al. [8], Namisato in 1974 Lingayen, Pangasinan was used as a comparison for
indicated that fishery for sea urchin is rapidly the determination of the sensorial characteristics of
expanding in many countries because of its nutritional sea urchin bagoong.
value which includes glycogen, carotenoids, alanine,
valine, glycine, methionine, and glutamic acid.
Likewise, it was mentioned that a 100-gram portion of
sea urchins, contains 172 calories and very little fat.
The fat present contains almost all unsaturated fat
particularly omega-3 fatty acids, which can help lower
blood pressure and reduce the risk of an abnormal
heart beat [9]. a b
Currently, a project is implemented in Bolinao,
Pangasinan on community-based sea urchin
(Tripneustesgratilla) grow-out culture as a resource
management tool formulation of an alternative
approach management integrating culture technology
and local community participation. This project
focuses on family/village-managed reproductive
reserves in the form of sea pens or cages where
c
juvenile sea urchins can be grown and selectively
harvested to address the pressing issue of impeding
depletion. The objective of the research is to produce Figure 1. a. Actual sea urchin “meat” bought
and determine the acceptability of sea urchin from Bolinao, Pangasinan; b. Appearance of the sea
bagoong. Specifically it is endeavored to identify the urchin “meat” prior to straining; c. Straining of the sea
level acceptability of the bagoong in terms of urchin mixture leaving the “meat” ready for bagoong
appearance, aroma, taste and color of various preparation
formulations prepared.
Determination of Acceptability of the Various
MATERIALS AND METHODS Formulations
Research Design Score card following the Five-Point Hedonic
The research implemented experimental and Scale was used to determine the acceptability of the
descriptive research. Various formulations of bagoong various formulations. The following arbitrary weights
using sea urchin were prepared and determined their with the corresponding values descriptive values were
acceptability using a score card following the 5- 5-Extremely Acceptable; 4-Highly Acceptable; 3-
Hedonic scale. Moderately Acceptable; 2-Fairly Acceptable and 1-
Not Acceptable.
Preparation of Various Formulations
Standard procedure in making bagoong [3]was
followed however, sea urchin was used instead of fish.
The sea urchin meat were bought from Bolinao,
PangasinanPhp 100.00 per kilo last December 2013.
Ice floatation was used for transportation of the
bought sea urchin from Bolinao to Nutrition and
Dietetics Laboratory. Also the amount of salt per
formulation was modified. For Formulation 1 (F1) a b
contained 1 cup of salt and 1 kilogram of sea urchin;
Formulation 2 (F2) had 2 cups of salt and 1 kg of sea Figure 2. a. Sea urchin bagoong after 2 months of
urchin bagoong and lastly Formulation 3 (F3) had 3 fermentation; b. Interview with respondents for
cups of salt and 1 kg of sea urchin. A commercially validation and feedback.
produced bagoong for export sold in Pangaspisan Sur,
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Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 3, No. 5, December 2015
 Viray et al., Production and Acceptability of Sea Urchin Bagoong
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Statistical Treatment to 3 fish ratio thus possibly had the highest total
Average Weighted Mean (AWM) was used to average weighted mean among the sea urchin
determine the best formulation. Moreover, Analysis of bagoong. It was mentioned that salt affects the activity
Variance was used to determine if significant of microorganisms as well as the action of the
difference was present in the level of acceptability of enzymes present in the fish. Salt is commonly used as
the various formulations. a food preservative. However, too much salt prevents
the action of bacteria and enzymes in any food. Thus,
Respondents of the Study material, causes a longer time for the fermentation on
37 BSND students, three Non-BSND students and aging of bagoong, and slows down the formation of a
one faculty member of ND Department of Pangasinan pleasant flavor. A salt to-fish mixture of 1 part s alt to
State University, Lingayen Campus evaluated the 2 parts fish (1:2 ratio) or 2 parts salt to 3 parts fish
various formulations of sea urchin bagoong. The (2:3 ratio) was found as too much salt. Under these
respondents were interviewed after tasting the various ratios, the aging time took from three to six months
formulations to validate their answers in the [10]. Furthermore, ANOVA shows that there is no
scorecard. significant difference in the acceptability of the
various formulations and the commercially produced
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS bagoobg-isda.
However, based on the interviews with the
Acceptability of Various Formulations of Sea respondents, they had issues on the smell of sea urchin
Urchin Bagoong bagoong which were described to have foul odor as
Based on the sensorial characteristics appearance, compared to the commercially bought bagoong.
aroma, taste and color, Formulation 3 which has 3 Although it was mentioned that the smell was
cups of salt and 1 kilogram of sea urchin had the tolerable, but it was not as the exceptional and distinct
highest average weighted mean followed by smell of bagoong-isda possibly because of the
Formulations 2 and 1 making Formulation 3 as the variation in the enzymes present among echinoderms
best formulation with the total average weighted mean and fishes. Therefore, there is the need for the creation
of 4.47 with a corresponding description of highly of process for the elimination or reduction of the foul
acceptable. Among the various formulations, smell of sea urchin bagoong although it has high
Formulation 3 has the closest salt-to-fish ratio with the potential as an alternative for bagoong production.
standard recipe for bagoong making which is 1 salt is

Table 1. Average Weighted Mean of the Acceptability of Various Formulations of Sea Urchin
Bagoong Based on Sensorial Characteristics Appearance, Aroma, Taste and Color
Formulations Appearance Aroma Taste Color Descriptive Ranking
Equivalents
AWM AWM AWM TWM
Formulation 1 4.08 3.74 4.46 3.9 4.05 Highly Acceptable 3
Formulation 2 4.22 4.01 4.27 4.22 4.18 Highly Acceptable 2
Formulation3 4.51 4.31 4.39 4.66 4.47 Highly Acceptable 1
Bagoong-isda 4.73 4.81 4.6 4.8 4.74 Highly Acceptable
(Commercially
produced)

CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES
The formulated sea urchin bagoong has highly [1] BajetJr and Esguerra (2008). Prototyping of a
acceptable descriptive rating which implies a potential Mechanized Bagoong Squeezer. UNP Research
market for sea urchin industry. The best formulation Journal Vol. XVII
was Formulation 3 which has 3 cups of salt and 1 [2] UP Science Education Center, 1982
[3] Bagoong Making (2012). How to Make
kilogram of sea urchin meat
BagoongPangasinan: Heavenly, Stinking Fish Sauce
. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/by7wA7
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Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 3, No. 5, December 2015
 Viray et al., Production and Acceptability of Sea Urchin Bagoong
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[4] Economic Survey Exercise UP ISSI 1975

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Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 3, No. 5, December 2015