Assessment of Temperature and Microbiological Quality of Fresh Sardine, Bouge, Saury and Mackerel Marketed in Tripoli City, Libya

Year 2018, Volume: 44 Issue: 2, 93 - 100, 03.05.2018

Tawfik Mehdi Hassan , Amal Abubaker Alhallug Nuri Sahli Madi

Abstract

DOI: 10.26650/actavet.2018.417973

The aim of this study was to assess the
temperature, total aerobic plate count (TAPC), and histamine-producing
bacterial count (HPBC) of four types of fish, viz., sardines (Sardinella
aurita), bouge (Boops boops), saury (Trachurus mediterraneus), and mackerel
(Scomber scombrus), that are sold in three major fish markets in Tripoli’s city
center. A total of 113 samples of these fish types were collected, both in the
morning and in the evening, from July to December in the fishing season.
Results showed that the temperature of the collected fish samples ranged from
<5°C to 22°C. Of the total 113 fish samples, 5.0%, 52.0%, and 43.0% had
temperatures of <5°C, 5°C–14°C, and 15°C–22°C, respectively. The TAPC of all
the fish samples ranged from 3.0 × 103 to 3.5 × 107 colony-forming
unit/g(cfu/g) of meat (with skin), with a mean of 1.1 × 106 cfu/g. The HPBC
ranged from an estimated 5.0 × 102 to 2.7 × 106 cfu/g, with a mean of 1.8 × 105
cfu/g. Statistical analysis of the data showed a weak correlation (r = 0.05)
between TAPC and HPBC of all the fish samples collected from the three major
markets. The TAPC results revealed that 50%, 46%, 38%, and 17% of the saury,
bouge, mackerel, and sardine fish samples, respectively, did not comply with
the standard specification limit (106 cfu/g) prescribed by the Libyan
authorities. A total of 26 isolates of histamine-producing bacteria were
identified in this study. The majority of them belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae
family and were not indigenous to the marine environment. There was a variation
in the distribution of these bacterial isolates among all the fish samples
during the course of the study. However, Vibrio fluvialis, Erwinia spp., and
Klebsiella planticola were detected in all the fish samples throughout the
study period. The high TAPC and HPBC recorded in this study could be attributed
to cross-contamination due to the poor quality of the surrounding environment
and the poor hygienic practices. Therefore, there is an urgent need for proper
control of product handling conditions in the fish markets monitored in this
study.

Keywords

HPBC, TAPC, Bouge, mackerel, sardine, saury, Tri­poli city

References

• Ababouch, L; Afilal, M. E; Rhafiri, S; Busta, F. F. 1991. Identification of Histamine – producing bacteria isolated from sardine (Sardina pilchardus) stored in ice and at ambient temperature (250C). Food Microbiology 8, 127-136. [CrossRef] Abuzghia, M. 1990. Study of spoilage index in cold stored Libyan sardine (S aurita). MSc thesis, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tripoli, Libya. Anonymous. 2014. Marine products industry status (obstacles and Solution) prepared by marine products committee. Ministry of Industry. Tripoli, State of Libya. Brillantes, S; Samosorn, W. 2001. Determination of histamine in fish sauce from Thailand using a solid phase extraction and high – performance liquid Chromatography. Fisheries Science 67, 1136 – 1168. [CrossRef] Economou, V; Brett, M; Papadopoulou, C; Frillingos, S; Nichols, T. 2007. Changes in histamine and microbiological analysis in fresh and frozen tuna Muscle during temperature abuse. Food additives and Contaminants August 24, 820-832. GSO 1016: 2015. Microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. GCC standardization organization. Hassan, T. M.; Shaktour, F. G.; Ahmed, A. A.; Melah, M. A. 2006. Monthly Changes in fat composition of Sardine (Sardinella aurita) caught From Libyan Coast. Libyan Journal of Marine Science 11, 5-24. Hassan, T. M.; Shaktour, F. G.; Ahmed, A. A.; Melah, M. A. 2011. Monthly Changes in fat composition of Libyan Bouge (Boops boops) during fishing Season. The Libyan Journal of Agriculture 16, 36-44 Hassan, T. M.; Abuhlega, T. A.; Ahmed, A. A.; Kalph, M. K. 2008. Shelf life of Libyan frozen sardine. Libyan Journal of Marine Science 12, 5-23. Kanki, M; Yoda, T; Ishibashi, M; Tsukamoto, T. 2004. Photobacterium Phosphoreum caused a poisoning incident. International Journal of Food Microbiology 92, 79-87. [CrossRef] Kim, M. K; Moh, J. H; Hwang, H. J. 2009. Biogenic amine formation and bacterial contribution in fish, squid and shellfish. Food Chemistry 1, 1-9. [CrossRef] Kim, S. H; Wei, C. I; Clemens, R. A; An, H. 2004. Histamine accumulation in seafood and control to prevent outbreaks of scombroid poisoning. Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 13, 81-100. [CrossRef] Korashy, N. T. and Hassan, M. F. 2005. Histamine and histamine producing bacteria in some local and imported fish and their public health significance. Research Journal of Agriculture and Biological Science 1, 329-336. Lokuruka, M. N; Regenstein, J. M. 2004. Biogenic amines in iced and temperature - abused tropical fish: A comparative study with temperate Atlantic mackerel. Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 13, 87-99. [CrossRef] Lopez – Sabater, I. E; Rodriguez – Jerez, J. J; Hernadez – Herrero, M; Mora – Venture, T. M. 1996. Incidence of histamine formation bacteria and Histamine content in scombroid fish species from retail markets in the Barcelona area. International Journal Food Microbiology 28, 411-418. [CrossRef] Moreno, B. R; Torres, A. E. 2001. Histamine level in fresh fish, a quality Index. Seafood Technology: Safety, Processing Nutrition - Faculty of Public Health. University of Sao Paulo, Av. Br. Arnaldo, 715 HNT, Sao Paulo, sp 01246. Nickelson, R.; McCarthy, S.; Finne, G. 2001. Fish crustaceans, and precooked seafood. In: Downes, F. P. and Ito, K. (eds). 4th eds., “Compendium of methods for the microbiological examination of foods”, American public health association, p. 497. [CrossRef] Niven, C. F; Jeffrey, M. B; Corlett, D. A. 1981. Differential plating medium for quantitative detection of histamine – producing bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 41, 321 322. Okuzumi, M; Okuda, S; Awano, M. 1982. Occurrence of psychrophilic and halophilic histamine – forming bacteria (N – group bacteria) on / in red med fish. Bulletin of Japanese Society of Scientific Fisheries 48, 799-804. [CrossRef] Ramesh, A; Ananthalakshmy, V. K; Venugopalan, V. K. 1989. Histamine Production in Indian oil sardine and Indian mackerel by luminous bacteria. Journal of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 5, 105-108. [CrossRef] Rawles, D. D; flick, G. J; Martin, R. F. 1996. Biogenic amines in fish and shellfish. Advances in Food Nutrition and Research 39, 329-365. [CrossRef] Swanson, K. M; Petran, R. L; Hanlin, J. H. 2001. Culture methods for Enumeration of microorganisms. In: Downes, F. P. and Ito, K. (eds). 4th eds., “Compendium of methods for the microbiological examination of foods”, American public health association, pp. 53-61. [CrossRef] Takahashi, H; Kimura, B; Yoshikawa, M; Fujii, T. 2003. Coloning and Sequencing of histidine decarboxylase genes of Gram – negative histamine Producing bacteria and their application in detection and identification of these organisms in fish. Applied Environmental Microbiology. 68, 2568-2579. [CrossRef] WHO (World Health Organization). 2007. The world health report, a safer future. Global public health security in the 21st century. Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.who.int/whr/2007/en/ (Accessed 20.02.2018). Yagoub, O. S. 2009. Isolation of Enterobacteria and Pseudomonas spp from raw fish sold in Khartoum state. Journal of Bacteriology Research 1, 85- 88. Yoshinaga, D. H; Frank, H. A. 1982. Histamine producing bacteria in Decomposing Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 44, 447 – 452.