title: Hygienic-Sanitary Evaluation of Sushi and Sashimi Sold in Messina and Catania, Italy.
abstract: Sushi and sashimi are traditional Japanese food, mostly consisting of raw seafood alone or in combination with rice. Eating sushi and sashimi has become popular in many countries even outside Japan. This food is not free from health risks such as ingestion of pathogenic bacteria or parasite. The aim of this study was to investigate on hygienic-sanitary quality of sushi and sashimi sold in the cities of Messina and Catania, Southern Italy. Fifty samples (38 sushi and 12 sashimi) were analysed to determinate the aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB), psycrophilic bacteria (PB),Enterobacteriaceae, specific spoilage organisms (SSOs),Pseudomonasspp., coagulase-positive staphylococci, micrococci,Vibriospp.,Bacillus cereus,Salmonellaspp. andListeria monocytogenes. In sushi, AMB ranged from 5.00 to 8.18 log CFU/g, PB from 4.70 to 7.13 log CFU/g,Enterobacteriaceaefrom 1.41 to 6.67 log CFU/g, while SSOs andPseudomonasspp. from 3.49 to 7.72 and from 3.36 to 8.00 log CFU/g, respectively. Micrococci ranged from 3.53 to 5.03 log CFU/g and coagulase positive staphylococci were found in 16 samples (2.00 to 3.60 log CFU/g).Bacillus cereuswas found in 3 samples (1.70 to 4.00 log CFU/g), whileVibriospp. was found in 15 of the sushi samples (1.70 to 3.70 log CFU/g). In sashimi, the AMB, PB and SSOs values were higher than 7.00 log CFU/g,Pseudomonasspp. andEnterobacteriaceaewere from 6.00 to 8.00 log CFU/g, whileVibriospp. were found in six samples with means of 2.00 log CFU/g. NoSalmonellaspp. andListeria monocytogeneswere detected in all sushi and sashimi samples.
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina , Italy.
authors: Daniele
authors: D
authors: Muscolino
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina , Italy.
authors: Filippo
authors: F
authors: Giarratana
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina , Italy.
authors: Chiara
authors: C
authors: Beninati
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina , Italy.
authors: Agata
authors: A
authors: Tornambene
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina , Italy.
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Panebianco
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Messina , Italy.
authors: Graziella
authors: G
authors: Ziino
keywords: Food hygiene; Microbiological quality; Sashimi; Sushi