Total plate count and Salmonella in bone-free milkfish (Chanos chanos) from micro, small, and medium enterprises in Palu City, Indonesia E O Merpati 1, S Ndobe 2, Rusaini 2, Rusdi 3, N. Serdiati 2
1 Student, Masters Program in Agricultural Sciences, Postgraduate Program, Universitas Tadulako, Palu, Indonesia
2 Fisheries and Marine Department, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Universitas Tadulako, Palu, Indonesia
3 Animal Husbandry Departement, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Universitas Tadulako, Palu, Indonesia
Abstract
High total plate count (TPC) and the presence of Salmonella in food products can cause health problems for consumers. Bone-free milkfish products are popular with consumers in Palu City, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, but there is a lack of data on their safety. Therefore this study aimed to investigate TPC levels and the prevalence of Salmonella in these products. Samples of fresh and processed milkfish were collected from two bone-free milkfish processing sites, namely the Technical Implementation Unit for Application of Quality of Fishery Products (TIU-AQFP) and the Melona Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Group in Palu City. Microbiological assays included counting the number of bacterial colonies (TPC) and the isolation and identification of Salmonella through biochemical tests. The study applied a completely randomized factorial design with three replicates per site and per product (12 experimental units). No Salmonella contamination was found in the test samples. Bone-free processing had a significant effect on TPC- however, the types of bacteria identified in fresh and bone-free milkfish, including Klebsiella, Enterobacter and Citrobacter, were present at non-pathogenic levels. These results indicate that bone-free milkfish products from the TIU-AQFP and Melona MSME Group in Palu City are safe and suitable for human consumption.
Keywords: milkfish, food safety, total plate count, Salmonella, bone-free fish
