Bacteriological assessment of some frozen fishes sold at Ator market in Ikot Ekpene metropolis

Abstract

This research was carried out to assess the microbiological quality of frozen fishes sold at Ator market in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. Thirty fish samples from three species of fish were collected from different retailers at the market. Samples were prepared from the intestine the gills, and the skin. The microbial load of the different samples was determined using appropriate media. Total viable bacterial counts ranged between 3.02×10⁴ to 52.0×10⁴ cfu/g, total coliforms ranged between 9.32×10⁴ to 47.4×10⁴ cfu/g, total vibrio count ranged from 0.52×10⁴ to 7.85×10⁴ cfu/g while the total Staphylococcal counts ranged from 2.08×10⁴ to 7.75×10⁴ cfu/g. It was observed from the study that the skin and the intestines harboured more bacteria growth than the gills. The microbial load obtained in this study exceeds the international acceptable limit of ≤ 1.0 × 10² cfu/g for frozen products thus indicating the poor sanitary and poor hygienic conditions of the markets where these fishes are sold or countries where they were imported, from. It is recommended that proper hygienic condition should be maintained during fish production, handling, storage, retailing and processing. Also, fish should be subjected to adequate cooking before consumption.