Determination of Hygienic-sanitary Quality of Ready-to-Eat Salmon Sashimi (Salmo salar)

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the hygienic-sanitary quality of salmon (Salmo salar) sashimi ready for consumption in the city of Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, Brazil, through the microbiological, physicochemical, and antimicrobial resistance profile, and the potential risks to consumers’ health. Salmon (Salmo salar) is among the fish whose consumption as a fresh raw food has gradually increased, mainly presented as sushi and sashimi. Fifty sashimi samples from 5 restaurants were characterized for enumeration of Aerobic Psychrotrophic Heterotrophic Bacteria (APHB) and Aerobic Mesophilic Heterotrophic Bacteria (AMHB), Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms at 45ºC (thermotolerant coliforms), coagulase-positive Staphylococci, presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella sp., and determination of hydrogen potential (pH) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N). The bacterial isolates were evaluated for their resistance profile to the antimicrobial agents. The findings demonstrated that the counts of APHB, AMHB, and coagulase-positive Staphylococci, as well as the determination of pH and TVB-N, were within the safe limits for consumption set by national and international standards. Salmonella sp. and V. parahaemolyticus presence, Enterobacteriaceae and thermotolerant coliform counts, and their disagreement with those standards raised questions about the hygienic and sanitary quality of sashimi.  The Staphylococcus aureus and V. parahaemolyticus isolates showed resistance to Penicillin, Ampicillin, Cefoxitin, Cefotaxime, Tetracycline, Gentamicin, and Amikacin, while the Salmonella sp. isolate showed no resistance to all the antimicrobial agents studied. The results showed that 48% of the samples were fit for consumption while 52% had unsatisfactory hygienic - sanitary quality for the parameters evaluated. It is suggested that similar work be carried out in several cities in the country for a broader survey of the quality of this food matrix, as well as scientific studies related to handling and raw materials.