Microbiological study of cooked crustaceans and molluscan shellfish from UK production and retail establishments

A study of cooked crustaceans and molluscan shellfish from retail and production premises was undertaken in the UK during 2003 to determine the microbiological safety of these products. According to criteria in European Commission Recommendation 2003/10/EC, 96% of 682 batches were of satisfactory/acceptable microbiological status while 4% of batches were unsatisfactory due to the presence of high levels of Escherichia coli (3.3%; 10(2) to 10(6) cfu g(-1)), Vibrio parahaemolyticus (0.4%; 10(2) to 10(6) cfu g(-1)), and Staphylococcus aureus (0.3%; > 10(3) cfu g(-1)). Salmonella spp. were not detected in any of the batches examined. However, a higher proportion of cooked crustacean and molluscan shellfish would be considered to be unsatisfactory using the process hygiene criteria for E. coli according to previous (5%; 93/51/EEC) and new (7%; (EC) No 2073/2005) European legislation. Over twice as many molluscan shellfish batches were of unsatisfactory microbiological status (5%) compared to that of crustacean batches (2%). Cooked molluscan shellfish and crustaceans were more likely to be microbiologically contaminated if: they were unfrozen; a hazard analysis system was not in place; the manager had received no food hygiene training. Shellfish and crustaceans are exposed to a range of conditions during harvesting, production and distribution, and this may increase the potential for microbial contamination, highlighting the need for applying good hygiene practices throughout the food chain to prevent contamination and/or bacterial growth.