Evaluation of the microbiological quality of jacopevers and plaices in Korea, 2015-2016

In Southeast Asian countries, including Korea, China, and Japan, the considerable amounts of raw fish have been annually consumed in the manner of live fish fillets without minimally thermal processing, increasing the risks of causing food-borne diseases. This study investigated the occurrence of total aerobic bacteria (TAB), coliform, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella enterica serovar spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus in jacopevers and plaices. Total 200 live fishes were collected from randomly selected restaurants located in Anseong-si, and then they were microbiologically monitored. TAB ranged from 3.09 to 3.21 Log₁₀ CFU/g in jacopever and plaice. Coliform in the levels of 1.54 Log₁₀ CFU/g were detected in samples. Out of 100 jacopevers, a single jacopever (1%) exhibited the prevalence of S. aureus in the edible part, though none of pathogenic bacteria were detected. These results will be useful for understanding the microbial prevalence in the domestic living jacopevers and plaices.