Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Fac. Vet. Med., Benha Univ
2
Food control Dept., Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha Univ., Egypt
3
Food Hygiene Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banha university
4
Microbiology Dept., Animal Health Research Institute, Benha Branch
Abstract
Fish is a worldwide distributed food commodity regarded an inexpensive source of protein especially in the developing countries like Egypt; it provides a good balance of protein, vitamins and minerals. In Egypt, catfish consumption is increased especially with its availability with reasonable price after expanding of its intensive farming; however, bacteria occur naturally on the skin, in the gut and in the slime of living fish without causing harm in healthy fish, unfortunately, it may migrate to its musculature associating with improper transportation, storage, and handling rendering it of potential hazards to consumers and wholesome of fish for consumption; therefore this study aimed to bacteriologically evaluatefifty random samples of catfish collected from retail and supermarkets in Benha city, Qalubiya governorate, Egypt. Results revealed that, the mean values of aerobic plate count (APC), total enterobacteriaceae, and total coliforms countswere 9.74×105, 3.25×103, and 2.35×103CFU\g, respectively; Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonellae, andYarseniaenterocoliticacould be detected in 18, 6, and 10% of examined samples, respectively, which went in further serological identification. The study indicated that the hygienic status of raw catfish is strongly related to source of collection, conditions of storage and handling; and recommended following proper hygienic properties of rearing, transportation, storage and handling.
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