Microbial Properties of Mechanically Deboned Fish Flesh

Mechanically deboning several traditional and underutilized fish species increased the microbial count tenfold. The shelf life of the minced fish at 2° and 12°C was 5 and 3 days respectively with a corresponding total bacterial count of 1.0–5.0 × 10 8 /g. The bacterial and Coliform counts during frozen storage (up to 3 mo, −25°C) showed little or no change. Frozen minced fish samples thawed from ‐25° to 2°C at thawing rates of 1.2, 1.6, 5.0, and 12.5°C/hr all had the same final bacterial count. Psychrotrophic bacteria in a beef‐fish mixture stored at 2°C grew at the same rate as fish or beef alone. At 12°C the bacterial growth in the beef‐fish mixture was slower than in beef or fish alone.