Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
are harvested. However, shrimp remains one of the most popular and
highly valued seafood selections throughout the world. Current annual
world production from both wild harvest and farm culture is estimated at
approximately 3,000,000 metric tonnes.
The importance of aquaculture continues to expand, especially for
freshwater species such as carp, and almost one third of fi sh used for human
consumption are now produced in aquaculture (FAO, 2004). Developed
countries accounted for more than 80% of total imports of fi shery products
in 2003 in value terms. Japan was the biggest importer of fi shery products,
accounting for some 26% of the global total. The European Union (EU) has
increased its dependency on imports for its fi sh supply. The United States,
besides being the world's fourth major exporting country, was the second
biggest importer. Imports were growing mainly due to expanding shrimp
imports. Shrimps and prawns are increasingly produced in aquaculture
especially in Southeast Asia.
MICROBIAL HAZARD IN SEAFOOD
Fish bacterial fl ora is composed mainly of psychrotrophic bacteria.
Although a wide variety of spoilage microorganisms can contaminate
seafood limited analysis techniques may serve to control its microbiological
quality. Mainly psychrotrophic aerobes and lactic acid and related bacteria
might be responsible for seafood spoiling, coliforms and enterococci
analyses might serve to verify fecal exposure. The most common food
borne pathogen microorganisms are Vibrio spp., Clostridium spp. and
Listeria monocytogenes, all other pathogenic microorganisms have their
origin in human activity, E. coli and Salmonella spp. are found the most.
Thus, the microbial fl ora of seafood directly refl ects the environment from
which the seafood is extracted. Microorganisms become associated with
the gill, intestine, and slime of the fi sh. The mud attached to the bottom
of the fi sh, crab, and shrimp is another source of microorganisms. If
microbial buildup is allowed to occur in the fi sh hold it will further add
to the microbial load of seafoods. The presence, growth, survival or death
of microorganisms or destruction of toxins as infl uenced by processing,
packaging and storage conditions will also need to be considered.
The following is the list of major microorganisms threatening seafoods
( Table 4.1 ).
Seafood Diseases and Illness
The responsibility for collection and recording of data on disease and
illness when seafood is implicated on a worldwide basis is spread among
a large number of agencies across many countries. In the United States,
the major sources of information on seafood-borne disease and illness
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