[Microbiologic study of low quality raw material obtained from Pacific salmon]

The authors examined the microflora in the regions occupied with food fish and food manufacture from Pacific salmon in order to establish its interrelations with other characteristics of the quality. With this purpose in view sea and river water in the places of catching, freshly catched salmon and salted food were studied for the presence of putrefactive bacteria, potentially pathogenic for hydrobionts and man. The data obtained have demonstrated that the main causes of the deterioration of the quality of raw material and food manufactured from Pacific salmon are of bacterial nature. Salmon with micropunctate or large skin ulcerations induced by the causative agent Aeromonas hydrophila was discovered to contain substances with pronounced toxic properties. It is concluded that salmon affected with this microorganism cannot be used for nutrition of the population without thermal treatment.