Microbial Quality Assessment of Traditionally Processed Fishery Products from Retail Fish Markets of Gazipur District in Bangladesh

The present study aimed to evaluate the bacterial quantity and quality of traditionally processed fishery products in Bangladesh, which are popular food items and an important source of animal protein. These products included dried bombay duck (Herpadon nehereus), dried ribbon fish (Trichiuris haumela), dried small shrimp (Metapenaeus sp.), salted hilsha (Tenualosa ilisha), and semi-fermented chepa (Puntius sophore) from vendors at the Chowrasta fish market in the Gazipur district. The study focused on determining the total plate count (TPC) of bacteria, moisture content, and the presence or absence of Salmonella and other pathogenic bacteria in these products. The TPCs ranged from 4.74 ± 3.74 to 5.08 ± 4.27 Log10 CFU/g, with the highest value found in dried bombay duck and the lowest in salted hilsha. The TPC for all five products was within the acceptable food safety limits, and Salmonella was not detected in any of the processed products. However, the products contained other pathogenic bacteria, including Citrobacter freundii and Leclercia adecarboxylata in the bombay duck, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hilsha, Providencia stuartii in shrimp, Enterobacter cloacae in chepa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the ribbon fish. This study is the first to report the presence of Leclercia adecarboxylata and Citrobacter freundii in the dried bombay duck and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in salted hilsha. Although the TPCs were within acceptable limits, indicating that the products were microbiologically safe in terms of total bacterial load, while the presence of pathogenic bacteria means they could still pose a risk to human health. Therefore, while the TPC did not exceed safety thresholds, the products were not entirely safe for consumption due to the presence of harmful pathogens. The results suggest that future studies on food safety should not solely rely on TPC as a marker for safety but should also consider the presence of specific pathogenic bacteria. In conclusion, while these traditionally processed fishery products appeared to be safe based on their TPC, the presence of pathogenic bacteria highlights a need for more comprehensive food safety assessments to ensure consumer health.