Microbiological characteristics of smoked and smoked-dried fish processed in Benin

This study aimed to assess the microbiological status of smoked fish (SF) and smoked– dried fish (SDF) processed in Benin, and to identify the contamination factors associ- ated with these products. A total of 66 fish samples, including fresh fish and processed fish, were randomly collected from different processing sites and markets for micro- bial characterization using standard methods. The aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) density varied from 2.9 to 9.5 Log 10 CFU/g. Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, yeasts, and molds were present in 63.9%, 27.8%, 55.6%, 58.3%, 61.1%, and 77.8% of samples, respectively, while no Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus were found. The majority (66.7%) of SF samples and 22.2% of SDF samples were not compliant with the ac- ceptable limit of <7.0 Log 10 CFU/g recommended by the Health Protection Agency for AMB, whereas the Enterobacteriaceae counts exceeded the recommended level of 4.0 Log 10 CFU/g for 50% of SF and 5.6% of SDF samples. Likewise, 38.9% of SF sam- ples were not compliant for E. coli. Microbiological hazard analysis of practices al- lowed to identify the sensitive steps where hygiene measures need to be emphasized for an improved quality control. for an improved quality control.