MINCED FISH FLESH FROM NONTRADITIONAL GULF OF MEXICO FINFISH SPECIES: BACTERIOLOGY

Abstract

ABSTRACTFresh and frozen minced fish flesh was prepared from sheepshead, black drum, croaker, sand trout, tilapia, and mullet. Aerobic plate counts (APC, at 25°C) of fresh mince ranged from 1.2 × l05/g (sheepshead) to 2.6 × 108/g (tilapia), those of frozen mince (2 months at ‐20°C) from 7.9 × 103/g (sheepshead) to 7.9 × l06/g (tilapia). In most cases only minor changes in count occurred during scaling, heading, and evisceration. Counts usually increased during flesh/bone separation. Coliform counts of frozen minced flesh ranged from 11.2 to >ll00/g. Fecal coliform bacteria were detected in the frozen mince of tilapia, croaker, and black drum (range 1.2‐254.3/g), coagulase positive staphylococci in tilapia, sheepshead, and mullet (range 3.6‐200/g). The microbial types present in the freshly minced product were similar to those present in the whole fish. Moraxella‐Acinetobacter sp. were the most prevalent microbial types in the fish before, during, and after processing into minced fish flesh.