Hygienic criteria of smoked herring fish marketed in Kafr El- Sheikh City

Abstract EN

A total number of one hundred samples from each packed and unpacked locally produced smoked herring fish (50 of each) were collected randomly from different shops and supermarkets of different sanitation levels at Kafr El-sheikh city.

The collected samples were directly transferred to the laboratory under complete aseptic conditions with a minimum of delay where they were subjected to sensory, chemical and microbiological evaluation.

The obtained results revealed that, regarding the sensory evaluation only 2 % of packed smoked herring fish samples were rejected due to macerated skin, friable consistency and musty flesh odor.

Meanwhile unpacked examined samples contained 14 % rejected due to macerated skin, very macerated skin and friable consistency, and 10 % rejected due to musty flesh odor and salty flesh taste.

Concerning the chemical examination, 4 % of packed smoked herring fish samples were rejected due to their over pH, value while 16 %, 12 %, 8 %and 10 % of unpacked smoked herring fish samples were rejected due to their pH value, TVN content, salt content and thiobarbituric acid number respectively.

On the other hand, microbiologically all the samples of packed smoked herring fish lied within the limits of Egyptian standard of smoked fish number 228 / 2005, concerning unpacked samples 10 %, 12 %, 20 % and 12 % were rejected due to contamination with total aerobic bacterial count, total anaerobic bacterial count, total coliforms count and Staphylococcus aureus coagulase positive respectively, more than the accepted limits of the previous standard.

The recommended points to safety and quality of smoked herring fish were discussed.