Hygienic and sanitary characteristics of dry salted fish marketed in Porto Velho city, Rondônia – Brazil

Abstract

Handcrafted salted fish is marketed weekly in retail markets and public fairs in the Porto Velho city, Rondônia sate, Brazil. Knowing the microbiological quality of these products is essential for public health, given that such products are not subject to any quality control. The aimed of the study was to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary characteristics and the moisture content of pirarucu and salted and dried shrimp marketed in the Porto Velho city. Twenty samples were collected, 10 pirarucu and 10 shrimp, in February and June 2019. For microbiological analysis, surface plating was performed using acidified potato agar, for molds and yeasts, and PCA agar for halophilic bacterias. Moisture was determined by gravimetry, using an oven at 105° C. Results for molds and yeasts on pirarucu ranged <10 log CFU/g (absent) to 3 log CFU/g. For shrimp, values ranged <10 log CFU/g to 3.57 log CFU/g. For halophilic bacterias, contents ranged <10 log CFU/g to 6.30 log CFU/g in pirarucu samples and <10 log CFU/g to 6.97 log CFU/g in shrimp samples. The variation in moisture content ranged 36.99 to 54.31% for pirarucu, and 40.6 to 56.82% for shrimp. The results obtained may be related to poor hygienic conditions in processing, the lack of hygiene of utensils and places for handling, or even the quality of the raw material used.

Fatty acid profile, omegas and lipid quality in commercial cuts of pirarucu (Arapaima gigas Schinz, 1822) cultivated in excavated tanks

“…What will be the most suitable destination for processing? According to the variation of the proximate composition, they demand specific forms of processing and preparation, allowing the exploration of new market niches (Cortegano et al, 2017;Pontuschka et al, 2022). The processing of fatter cuts requires more carcass cleaning with the removal of excess residual fat, such as the deboned cut, filet mignon and loin of A. gigas, they will be better destined to the preparation of portions of baked cookies .…”