Bacterial and chemical evaluation of chilled fish ready for exporting

ABSTRACT

Ninety five fish of the Mediterranean chilled fish samples [28 sea bream [Sparus ausatus]; 25 sea bass [Dicentrarchus labrax]; 23 Epinaphalus guaza and 19 Meagre [Argyrosomus regius]] were collected from different establishments licensed for exporting fish in Egypt. Each sample was placed and sealed in an individual sterile plastic bag surrounded by ice bags in an ice box and transported immediately to the laboratory where they subjected to organolyptic, bacteriological and chemical laboratory examinations to estimate the freshness rating and the quality parameters which carried out directly after fish arrival to the laboratory. The mean [ +/- St. Error] Demerit scores were 3.15 +/- 0.84. The mean [ +/- St. Error] Aerobic bacterial counts and coliforms counts were [1.85X10[4] +/- 1.14 XI0[3] and 4.8 +/- 0.51] respectively. The mean values [+ St. Error] of Total Volatile Bases - Nitrogen [mg/l00g] and Thiobarbituric acid number [mg Mal/ Kg] of the fish samples were [4.72 +/- 1.37 and 0.077 +/- 0.018] respectively. The investigator failed to detect any of the Salmonella; Escherichia coli or Listeria Monocytogenes micro-organisms from the samples while, the No. of the positive samples for Staphylococcus aureus were [4.2%] from 95 samples