Abstract

This study reports the comparative studies and microbial risk assessment of different frozen seas-foods processed in Ijora-olopa, Lagos State, Nigeria. Different varieties of popularly consumed frozen sea-foods bought from different processing shops in Ijora-olopa, Lagos were microbiologically analyzed for the presence of microorganisms. Total plate counts, enterobacteriaceae counts and Salmonella-Shigella (SS) counts were enumerated using Plate Count Agar (PCA), Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) Agar and Salmonella-Shigella Agar (SSA), respectively. The total counts for all the processed frozen seafood products ranged between 1.08 x 10² to 2.86 x 10⁴ CFU/ml. These were generally high exceeding the limit of 1.0 x 10² CFU/ml. The coliform count ranged between 0.76 x 10² and 1.36 x 10⁴ cells. The Salmonella-Shigella (SS) count ranged between 0.26 x 10² and 0.96 x 10⁴cells. Seventeen (17) isolates were characterized from the samples on PCA with percentage of occurrence of different microorganisms characterized as follows:Bacillus cereus (29.4%), Enterobacter aerogenes (29.4%), Salmonella sp. (17.6%),Flavobacterium sp. (11.8%), Micrococcus sp. (5.9%), and Staphylococcus auerus(5.9%). Consumption of some of this water and the seafood product processed with these water samples available in the market should be discouraged.   

Key words: Food safety, HACCP, foodborne pathogens, microbiological quality, frozen seafood.