This study aimed to assess the microbiological status of smoked fish (SF) and smoked–dried fish (SDF) processed in Benin, and to identify the contamination factors associated with these products. A total of 66 fish samples, including fresh fish and processed fish, were randomly collected from different processing sites and markets for microbial characterization using standard methods. The aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) density varied from 2.9 to 9.5 Log 10 CFU/g. Enterobacteriaceae , Escherichia coli , Bacillus cereus , Clostridium perfringens , yeasts, and molds were present in 63.9%, 27.8%, 55.6%, 58.3%, 61.1%, and 77.8% of samples, respectively, while no Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus were found. The majority (66.7%) of SF samples and 22.2% of SDF samples were not compliant with the acceptable limit of <7.0 Log 10 CFU/g recommended by the Health Protection Agency for AMB, whereas the Enterobacteriaceae counts exceeded the recommended level of 4.0 Log 10 CFU/g for 50% of SF and 5.6% of SDF samples. Likewise, 38.9% of SF samples were not compliant for E. coli . Microbiological hazard analysis of practices allowed to identify the sensitive steps where hygiene measures need to be emphasized for an improved quality control.

This study draws the attention of the laboratories to the main causes of analytical errors and suggests practical solutions to avoid them, in an educational purpose. The observations support the hypothesis that regular participation to PT, when followed by feed-back and appropriate corrective actions, can play a key role in quality improvement and provide more confidence in the laboratory testing results.

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