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.