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Bacterial Counts and Quality of Iced Fish Retailed at a Lusaka Market, Zambia
Author(s) -
Watanabe K.,
Ulstrup Grete
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1973.tb04134.x
Subject(s) - fish <actinopterygii> , coliform bacteria , toxicology , veterinary medicine , biology , anaerobic bacteria , zoology , bacteria , fishery , medicine , genetics
S ummary . The counts of total viable, coliform, streptococcal and sulphite reducing anaerobic bacteria and the presence of salmonellae were determined on 134 iced fish obtained from Luburma Market, Lusaka, Zambia, during June‐December 1970. The quality of the uncooked fish was also assessed by appearance and odour. The purpose of these determinations was to obtain a picture of the variations of the bacterial counts in relation to season, origin, fish species and market quality. Total viable and coliform counts were of the order of millions and tens of thousands/cm 2 of skin surface, respectively. Higher counts were obtained in the hot season during September‐October but with little change in appearance of the fish. There was a significant correlation ( P < 0·01) of both total viable and coliform bacteria with quality scores. A maximum permissible level of 10 7 cells/cm 2 of skin surface was proposed for total viable counts and 10 5 /cm 2 for coliform bacteria, for iced fish of acceptable quality in Zambia.