Occurrence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus in seafood

• Published in: Italian Journal of Food Safety
• Main Authors: Deyan Stratev, Todor Stoyanchev, Desislava Bangieva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Italian
• Published: PAGEPress Publications 2021
• Subjects: Vibrio parahaemolyticus; Staphylococcus aureus; occurrence; seafood; Food processing and manufacture; TP368-456; Argentine; Hake; alaska pollock; atlantic cod; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2021.10027; https://doaj.org/article/6bb15f04058e49109de1371f0bdfa4c2

The objective of this study was to establish the occurrence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus in several species of sea fish and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis). The study included a total of 33 samples of frozen sea fish and 64 samples of fresh wild and farmed mussels purchased from the stores. V. parahaemolyticus was isolated and confirmed via PCR in 2 (6%) fish samples (Atlantic cod and Alaska pollock) and 20 (31%) mussel samples. S. aureus was also isolated and confirmed via PCR in 2 (6%) fish samples (Argentine hake and Atlantic cod). Significant differences were found in the total bacterial contamination between wild mussels (6.54 log cfu/g) and farmed mussels (6.69 log cfu/g). Total V. parahaemolyticus count did not show significant differences either between wild (4.45 log cfu/g) and farmed mussels (4.99 log cfu/g). In wild mussels the S. aureus count was found to be 4.50 log cfu/g, while in farmed mussels it was 3.14 log cfu/g. The occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus and S. aureus in fish and mussels presents a risk to the consumer’s health.