Post-harvest Bacterial Quality of Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepede, 1802)

Abstract

Food safety and microbiological quality particularly
in high moisture foods like seafood have gained
significant attention among consumers. Compromise
with regard to quality standards for the retail
trade of fish and fish products is decreasing the
quality of fish. Present study was conducted to
detect the bacterial progression fish from harbour
to retail shop and market. Lethrinus lentjan (white
snapper) was collected from three different strategic
locations, viz., harbour, retail shop and market on
the same day and quantitative and qualitative
bacteriological analyses were carried out. Samples
collected from market exhibited 12.61% more
mesophilic count than that of harbour samples and
9.5% more than retail samples. The increasing trend
in bacterial counts was noticed in psychrophiles,
enterobacteriaceae, faecal streptococci, hydrogen
sulphide producers, Brochothrix thermosphacta and
histamine producing bacteria. Pathogens like Salmonella,
Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and Lethrinus lentjan, microbial quality,
harbour, retail marketListeria monocytogenes were absent in the analysed
samples.