Archives of Current Research International

Dried fish remains an important shelf-stable food, livelihood product and trading commodity in Bangladesh, yet the sector is characterised by marked heterogeneity in processing conditions, food-safety performance, market organisation and access to upgrading technologies. This critical narrative review integrates evidence on production systems, drying and storage technologies, nutritional and microbiological quality, chemical hazards, value chains, livelihoods, regulation and sustainability. English-language literature published from 1 January 2000 to 5 July 2026 was identified through multidisciplinary and fisheries-, food- and health-relevant scholarly sources, supplemented by citation searching and authoritative institutional materials. The evidence indicates that traditional open sun drying persists because it is inexpensive, flexible and compatible with dispersed small-scale production, but product quality is vulnerable to humidity, insects, dust, uneven drying, handling and inadequate storage. Solar tunnel, chimney and covered drying systems can improve process protection and drying control under experimental or field conditions, although evidence for sustained adoption, profitability and maintenance at scale is substantially weaker than evidence for technical efficacy. Bangladesh studies report considerable variation in proximate composition, microbial contamination, pesticide residues and toxic metals. These findings justify stronger hazard-based quality assurance, but most studies are geographically local and cross-sectional, so they do not support a single national estimate of risk. Marketing studies consistently describe fragmented chains, limited working capital, storage and information constraints, and unequal value capture, while women contribute substantially to labour-intensive processing but often have less control over higher-value functions. Sustainability therefore cannot be reduced to dryer efficiency alone. It requires integrated attention to post-harvest loss, raw-material stewardship, climate resilience, safe processing, traceability, finance, labour conditions and market incentives. Future research should prioritise longitudinal, multi-site evaluations of technology adoption, representative surveillance of contaminants and microbiology, value-chain cost and margin analysis, and measurable social and environmental outcomes.