Bacterial hazards of ready to eat fish products.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bacterial quality of the examined ready to eat (RTE) fish product samples through isolation and identification of Enteropathogenic E. coli, Coagulase +ve S. aureus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. A total of one hundred random samples of RTE fish products represented by fried Nile tilapia, grilled tilapia, smoked herring and salted sardine (25 of each) were collected from different fish markets and restaurants in Menofia governorate, Egypt. The incidence of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (E.coli) were 24%, 32%, 36% and 50 % in the examined samples of fried tilapia, grilled tilapia, smoked herring and salted sardine, respectively. While, Coagulase +ve Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was detected in 32%, 44%, 52% and 72 % of the examined samples of fried tilapia, grilled tilapia, smoked Herring and salted Sardine, respectively. Furthermore, Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus ) was isolated only from 20% and 36 % of the examined samples of smoked herring and salted sardine, respectively. In conclusion, bacterial examination of RTE fish products is a sensitive indicator verifying the quality and good hygienic status of RTE fish products