Fish Microbiology and Quality Assurance

Unit 1 - Role and significance of microorganisms in food

1.7 Microorganisms associated with food
The presence of small numbers of microorganisms associated with foods may not cause any problem, but their unrestricted growth can result in spoilage or deterioration of the food making it unfit for consumption. The wide variety of microorganisms associated with foods is mainly saprophytic. They can not be avoided in food as these are derived from the environment in which the food is prepared or processed, and also difficult to eliminate completely. However, it is possible to reduce the number or decrease their activities by altering the environmental conditions.
A variety of bacteria, molds and yeasts are important as food spoilage organisms. Important microorganisms involved in spoilage of fish are:

Bacteria
Gram Negative Bacteria
Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Alkaligens, Enterobacter, Flovobacterium, Moraxella, Photobacterium, Pseudomonas Vibrio etc

Gram Positive Bacteria
Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Enterococcus, Listeria, Microbacterium, Clostridium, Staphalococcus, etc

Fungi
Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Scouplariopis, Saprolegnia, Cladosporium, Alternaria etc.

Yeasts
Candida, Cryptococcus, Debaryomyces, Hansenula, Pichia, Rhodotorula, Trichosporon etc