Biochemical and microbiological characteristics of some Mediterranean salted fish products

Abstract

Salted fish products provide essential nutrients and make a significant contribution to nutrition. Chemical composition, water activity (aw), sodium chloride content, pH, and microbiological analysis of five different salted fish products originating from Egypt and Spain were investigated. Chemical quality parameters such as free fatty acids (FFA), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content, trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) content, peroxide value (PV), and thiobarbituric acid value (TBA) were also evaluated. The chemical composition varies greatly among different salted fish types. Analysis of salted fish samples showed high contents of TVB-N and PV, while TBA values of all samples were quite low, indicating the limited formation of secondary lipid oxidation products. The highest FFA value was recorded for Sardine, whereas Maruca recorded the lowest FFA value. Total bacterial count ranged from 3.68 to 6.92, Lactobacillus count 1.08–5.02, yeast and mold counts 0.98–3.78, Staphylococcus count 1.21–5.18, and halophilic bacteria count 2.87–6.35 log10 CFU/g. No coliforms group was detected in all samples, while enterococci count, with a less than 1.0 log10 CFU/g, was detected only in Fesseikh, Mugel, and Moloha samples. It could be concluded in the Egyptian and Spanish salted fish, the differences are meaningful, and this might be related to the different geographical origins of fishes and the different manufacturing processes used.