Analysis of Escherichia coli and Salmonella on processed Namibian hakes Merluccius and Merluccius paradoxus

Abstract

Abstract by author:

Fish processing plants were visited during January/February and June 2004. Forty-one fish samples were obtained for testing during this study period. Samples were tested at South Africa Bureau of Standard (SABS), at Walvis Bay. The Most Probable Number (NPN) technique was used for enumeration of E. coli. For Salmonella species, Rappaport-Vassiliadis (RV) and selenite broths were used for enumeration. For detection, Salmonella species were grown on Xylose Lysine Desoxycholate (XLD) and Brilliant Green (BG) agar plates. There was no E. coli bacteria on fish samples collected during the study period, while 6 bacteria colonies of Salmonella were observed from one company during the first phase of the study

It was concluded that generally, processing companies comply with the EU export requirements for hake. Since there is zero tolerance for Salmonella, extra vigilance is needed to eliminate these bacteria completely as the one occurrence could still tarnish the good reputation that the industry has built over many years