Storage Conditions and Microbial Quality of Smoked Dry Herring in Ghana

A microbial profile of smoked dry herring stored under various storage conditions for up to 6 months at ambient temperature was determined. The fish were stored in polyethylene bags, polyethylene bags with desiccant, the traditional oven storage, modified storage structure, and freezer (control) storage. The fish stored in polyethylene bags with or without desiccant spoiled rapidly. Microbial counts were also very high. The microbial counts of fish stored in the traditional oven and the modified structure were small, even less than that stored in freezer. The storage losses were only 4% for the modified structure while the traditional oven storage was 29%. The major pathogenic bacterium found in smoked dry herring was Staphylococcus aureus .