MICROBIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE RETAILED DRY FISHES
N. Uma Maheswari* and P. Kokila
ABSTRACT
The usage of dry fish usually obtained from the open shelf in most
communities of the developing countries has raised some health related
concerns. Curing is a traditional method for preservation of fish
especially in rural areas. The quality of salted and sun dried fishes are
adversely affected by the occurrence of microorganisms. The present
study deals with the microbiological assessment of dry fishes such as
Nethili, Panna, Thirrukkai, Valai, and Madavai were purchased from
Uzhavar Sandhai, Mannargudi, Thiruvarur (Dt), Tamil Nadu, India.
Thhe samples were then transported in clean polythene bags to the PG
and Research Department of Microbiology laboratory for
microbiological analysis. The bacterial and fungal species were
isolated and identified from the five different types of the dry fishes.
Nearly 6 bacterias, 8 fungal species are isolated and identified. The
moisture and pH and level are monitored in the terms of three month of storage and also
count the bacterial and fungal colonies using colony counter. The heavy metals of Fe, Cu, and
Zn are also measured. All the bacterial and fungal colonies were analyzed by the mean
values. Totally 6 bacteria and 8 fungi were isolated. E.coli and Aspergillus niger was
predominant isolates from the all the dry fish samples. Microbial population frequently were
high in Valai, followed by Madavai, Thirukkai, Panna and Nethili. The poor quality of dried
fishes were mainly due to unhygienic processing, inadequate salting, unhygienic drying, use
of spoilage fish for processing and lack of air tight packing of the dried fishes. Drying along
with salting and smoking as a fish preservation technique had been practiced perhaps longer
than any other food preservation technique.
Keywords: Dry fish, pH, Heavy metals, Moisture.
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