INTRODUCTION

• What is seafood?
Any form of sea life regarded as food by humans. It includes
Fish
Shellfish
Edible seaplants
Group Subgroup Image Description
marine Live and feed neither close to bottom nor near
pelagic the shore.

marine live and feed on or near the bottom of the sea.

FISH demersal

diadromous migrate between the sea and fresh water.

freshwater live in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and ponds.

molluscs soft bodied invertebrates protected by

a calcareous shell .

Shellfish crustaceans invertebrates with segmented bodies protected

by hard crusts.
echinodermis headless invertebrates, found on the seafloor in
all oceans and at all depths.
seaweeds Broadly, the term is applied to the
larger, macroscopic forms of algae.
Edible
microphytes Microphytes are microscopic organisms, and can
seaplants be algal, bacterial or fungal.
Aquatic plant flowering plants and ferns that have adapted to
a life in water.
• Seafoods because of their health advantages over red meats,
has increased consumption.

•Seafoods are mainly available under fresh condition,frozen,lightly

preserved,or canned.

•The microbiota of seafood depends on many factors including

Intrinsic properties of the fish species
Environment
Water temperature
Area of catch
Handling and processing procedures
 CONTAMINATION
Fish and other seafood may be spoiled by autolysis, oxidation, or bacterial
activity or most commonly by combinations of these. Most fish flesh, however,
is considered more perishable than meat because of more rapid autolysis by
the fish enzymes and because of the less acid reaction of fish flesh that favors
microbial growth. Also, many of the unsaturated fish oils seem to be more
susceptible to oxidative deterioration that are most animal fats.

The experts agree that the bacterial spoilage of fish does not begin until after
rigor mortis, when juices are released from the flesh fibers. Therefore, the
more this is delayed or protracted, the longer the keeping time of the fish. The
pH of the fish flesh has an important influence on its perishability, not only
because of its effect on rigor mortis but also because of its influence on the
growth of bacteria.
 FACTOR INFLUENCING KIND &
RATE OF SPOILAGE
1. The kind of fish. The various kinds of fish differ considerably in their
perishability. Thus some flat fish spoil more readily, than round fish because
they pass through rigor mortis more rapidly, but a flat fish like the halibut
keeps longer because of the low pH (5.5) of its flesh. Certain fatty fish
deteriorate rapidly because of oxidation of the unsaturated fats of their oils.
Fishes high in trimethylamine oxide soon yield appreciable amounts of the
"stale-fishy" trimethylamine.

2. The condition of the fish when caught- Fish that are exhausted as the
result of struggling, lack of oxygen, and excessive handling spoil more
rapidly than those brought in with less ado, probably because of the
exhaustion of glycogen and hence smaller drop in pH of the flesh. "Feedy"
fish, i.e., those full of food when caught, are more perishable than those
with an empty intestinal tract
3. Temperature- Chilling the fish is the most commonly used method for
preventing or delaying bacterial growth and hence spoilage until the fish is
used or is otherwise processed. The cooling should be as rapid as possible 0
to -1 OC, and this low temperature should be maintained. Obviously, the
warmer the temperature, the shorter the storage life of the fish.

4.The kind and extent of contamination if the fish with bacteria-These may
come from mud, water, handlers, and the exterior slime and intestinal
content of the fish and are supposed to enter the gills of the fish, from which
they pass through the vascular system and thus invade the flesh, or to
penetrate the intestinal tract and thus enter the body cavity. Even then,
growth probably is localized for the most part, but the products of bacterial
decomposition penetrate the flesh fairly rapidly by diffusion. In general, the
greater the load of bacteria on the fish, the more rapid the spoilage.
SPOILAGE OF FISHES
EVIDENCES OF SPOILAGE

• Normally fish has fresh ,sea weedy odor and the flesh is not easily
stripped from the backbone.
Initially a sickly
sweet odor followed by
develops ammonia odor

then a stale odor finally putrid odor

due to due to H2S and
trimethylamine indole.
• Chemical tests for trimethylamine ,volatile acids ,volatile bases, pH,
H2S, and ammonia can be used in spoilage detection. Bacteriological
tests are too slow to be useful.
On becoming putrid,
 The bright characteristic color fades out and becomes dirty, yellow or brown
discolouration.
 Slime on the skin increases due to microbial growth.
 Eyes gradually sink and shrink, with pupil becoming cloudy and cornea
opaque.
 Gills turn to light pink and finally greyish yellow in colour.
 Flesh softens and exudes juices when squeezed.
 Flesh is easily stripped from all along backbone, where a reddish brown
discolouration develops towards the tail.

Spoilage of fish can be detected by reduction of trimethylamine-N-

oxide(TMAO) to trimethylamine. Fish spoilage microorganisms
utilize TMAO as a terminal electron acceptor under anaerobic
conditions.
 SPOILAGE
• In the early stages, microbial spoilage in fish involve utilization of NPN
compounds resulting in formation of fatty acids, ammonia and volatile
compounds.
• The proteolytic bacteria produce extracellular proteinases that hydrolyze fish
protein and supply peptides and AAs for further spoilage.
• Gram negative aerobic rods( like Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and
Moraxella) and facultative anaerobic rods (alcaligenes, vibrio, etc.) and
coliforms constitute the major spoilage bacteria.
• LAB can predominate in fish storage under vacuum or CO2 storage.
 SPOILAGE ORGANISMS
• SPOILAGE OF FISH AT CHILLING TEMPERATURES Pseudomonas spp, Achromabacter , Flavobacterium
• SPOILAGE AT ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE Bacillus , Micrococcus,Escherichia , Proteus, Serratia ,
Sarcina , Clostridium
• MUSTY/MUDDY ODOUR AND TASTE Streptomyces spp
• DISCOLOURATION OF FISH:
 GREENISH YELLOW Ps. Fluoroscens
 YELLOW Micrococcus
 PINK RED Serratia, Micrococcus , Bacillus
 CHOCOLATE BROWN Yeast and Molds
• OFF ODOUR IN FISH Alteromonas putrefaciens
• SALTED FISH SPOILAGE Aspergillus , Penicillium , Scopulariopsis
• SMOKED FISH SPOILAGE Wallemia sebi , Aspergillus
Source: Food Microbiology
By N. Ramanathan
Spoilage of shellfish
 MOLLUSKS
• Lower in NPN compounds than fish and crustaceans, but higher
in carbohydrates (mostly glycogen 3.4-5.6%) wit pH above 6.0.
• Generally fermentative soilage.
• These are kept alive until processed.
• Pseudomonas and Vibrio break down NPN compounds to
ammonia, amines and volatile fatty acids.
• Carbohydrates can be metabolized to produce organic acids by
LAB, Enterococcus and coliforms with decreasing pH
 CRUSTAEANS
• Rich in NPN compounds(amino acids, especially arginine and
trimethylamine oxide), contain 0.5% glycogen and have a pH above 6.0
• Contains large amount of amino acids than fish.
• Microbial spoilage appear with odour change due to production of volatile
metabolites from NPN compounds.
• Higher quantity of free amino acids and other soluble nitrogenous
compounds accelerate rapid bacterial growth.
• Enzymes rapidly breaks down protein, leading to tissue softening and
development of volatile off odour.
• Black spot appear due o the formation of sulphur from melanosis
polyphenol oxidase activity.
 Spoilage microorganism in
shellfish
• Spoilage microorganisms in Crustaceans
Pseudomonas, Gram-negative rods

• Spoilage microorganisms in Molluscs

Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Clostridium, Escherichia,
Enterobacter, Flavobacterium, Lactobacillus,
Micrococcus, Moraxella, Proteus, Serratia,
Streptococcus and yeasts.

• Pathogens in shellfish
Vibrio cholerae O1, non-O1 V. cholerae, Salmonella
spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter species

• Naturally occurring pathogens in shellfish

Shewanella, Photobacterium and Vibrio
 Preservation of fish and
fish products
• Drying. The principle of the drying preservation method is to
remove water from the food and lower the water activity level.
• This method has proven to be effective in extending the shelf
life of fish.
• There are three types of drying are used for fish preservation
sun drying, vacuum drying, and freeze-drying.
 High-pressure treatments
• In this method, microorganisms are inactivated due to lethal
structural and biochemical alterations caused to the cells as a
result of high pressures applied.
• It is studied that the synergistic effect of high-pressure treatment
at 200MPa has an inhibitory effect on Listeria monocyogenes in
smoked salmon
 USE OF PRESERVATIVES
• Chemical preservatives can be applied directly or as dips.
• Fish may be dry-salted (4 to 5%) but salt contributes halophiles which may
discolor the fish. eg. red color from Serratia salinaria, species of
Micrococcus, Flavobacterium, Alcaligenes, Pseudomonas.
• Sodium and potassium nitrites and nitrates lengthen the keeping time.
• Sorbic acid delay spoilage of smoked or salted fish.
• other preservatives -formaldehyde, chloroform, hypochlorites, hydrogen
peroxide, sulfur dioxide
• Antioxidants In fish, fats and oils are subject to oxidative changes. These
changes are controlled by antioxidants application as dips, coatings, glazes,
or gases. eg., nordihydroguaiaretic acid, ethyl gallate, ascorbic acid.
 SMOKING FISH
• Smoking has long been used as a mean of temporarily preserving fish.
• the step in the smoking process are necessary not only for safe
preservation but also to produce good flavour and aroma.
• Carps,suckers,buffalo catfish,salmon,trout and chubs may be sucessfully
smoked.
• A safe hugh quality product can be produced using the folling brining and
smoking procedure.
• Certain step in brining and smoking requires careful attention.
• Brining
• use correct amount of salt in brine.
• Use enough brine for a given amount of fish.
• The temperature during brining should be no higher than 40°F.
• Use similar size and kind of fish in the brine.
• Smoking
• There should be uniform heat treatment of all fish in the smoking chamber.
• Use freshly caugh,dressed fish,whole or filleted. Wash fish thoroughly.
SMOKED FISH
 Packaging technologies
• Packaging technologies involving either removal of air or the replacement
of air by certain gases (such as CO 2, O2, N2, or a combination of all).
• Such packages are often termed modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)
and vacuum packaging (VP).
• The shelf-life of fish could be extended by using MAP containing CO 2 which
has been shown to retard the growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria.
• Air is removed under vacuum and the package is sealed. The products were
kept under a lower O2 atmosphere, with less than 1% inhibiting the growth
of aerobic spoilage microorganisms, particularly Pseudomonas spp. and
Aeromonas spp.
 References
• Food microbiology- William C Frazier,Dennis C Westhoff

• FOOD MICROBIOLOGY Principles into practice- Osman Erkmen, T. Frauk

Bozoglu

• Tracing pathogens in the food chain-Stanley Brul M. Fratamico and Tom

McMeekin

• Quantitative Microbiology in food processing-Anderson de Souza Sant’Ana