Numbers and types of microorganisms in vacuum-packed cold-smoked freshwater fish at the retail level.
Fifty-four packages (each one belonging to a different lot) of vacuum-packed cold-smoked salmon (30) and trout (24) produced by six Spanish smokehouses were obtained at retail level after 3 weeks storage at 2+/-1 degrees C. Sensorial, chemical, physicochemical and microbiological characteristics were examined. Overall, pH, a(w), salt content in water phase, aerobic plate counts at 30 and 25 degrees C. levels of Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), fungi and presumptive aeromonads and staphylococci are in agreement with available data on lightly preserved fish products. Psychrotrophic clostridia ranged between 1.71 and 2.21 log CFU/g. Levels of ethanol were highly variable and not significantly related (p > 0.05) to sensory scores or to microbial numbers. Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected in any sample. Listeriae other than L. monocytogenes were isolated from three packages. Levels of Staphylococcus aureus lower than 4 log CFU/g were also found in three packages. Among 377 bacteria randomly isolated from aerobic 25 degrees C plate counts, LAB predominated, with Carnobacterium (C. piscicola) and Lactobacillus (eight species) being the genera most frequently found. The second and third major groups were Enterobacteriaceae and Micrococcaceae, respectively. Proteus vulgaris, P. mirabilis and Serratia liquefaciens were dominant among Enterobacteriaceae and coagulase-negative staphylococci among Micrococcaceae. Minor microbial groups such as aerobic gram-negative bacilli (Acinetobacter; Moraxella and Pseudomonas), Brochothrix, Aeromonas, Bacillus and Vibrio constituted less than 17% of the total flora.
González-Rodríguez
María-Nieves
MN
Department of Food Hygiene and Food Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of León, Spain.
Sanz
José-Javier
JJ
Santos
Jesús-Angel
JA
Otero
Andrés
A
García-López
María-Luisa
ML
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003080:Cold Temperature; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005516:Food Microbiology; D018857:Food Packaging / Q000379:methods*; D005519:Food Preservation; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012474:Salmon / Q000382:microbiology*; D017747:Seafood / Q000382:microbiology*; D012906:Smoke; D013649:Taste; D014337:Trout / Q000382:microbiology*; D014618:Vacuum
D012906:Smoke