Ismail Al Bulushi^1,, Mohamed Rahman¹, Mutamed Ayyash², Mostafa Waly¹, Mohammed Al Za’abi³, Aisha Abushelaib², Jalila Al Hadhrami¹, Jamila Al kalbani³

Traditional salted Thunnus albacares and Scomberoides commersonianus processed with a thyme and other additives recipe were microbiologically and physiochemically characterized to evaluate its safety, quality and storage stability at 23 ± 2°C with a reference to the bacterial floral composition and halophilic bacterial floral types and its potential. This study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, 15 kg of Thunnus albacares and Scomberoides commersonianus each were bought from local markets and characterized, whereas, in the second stage, 20 kg of Scomberoides commersonianus were stored at 23 ± 2°C for 10 weeks and its storage stability was evaluated. Total aerobic mesophilic bacterial and moderate halophilic bacterial counts were log 2.0 ± 0.78 - 2.4 ± 0.44 CFU/g and log 1.8 ± 0.11 - 2.5 ± 0.53 CFU/g. Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, mesophilic lactic acid bacteria and yeasts and molds counts were < log 1 CFU/g. Vibrio parahaemolyticus was not detected. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B. methylotrophicus were the most dominant halophilic bacteria among the flora. Most of the Bacillus species showed antimicrobial, amino decarboxylation and lipolytic activities. Water activity, peroxide value and acid value were 0.79 ± 0.00 - 0.85 ± 0.00, 2.8 ± 1.4 - 5.6 ± 1.4 meq/kg fat and 2.3 ± 0.62 - 3.2 ± 1.1. Tyramine, histamine, cadaverine and putrescine were found in trace amounts. Salted fish product^,s characteristics did not change significantly during storage except NaCl content and colour value a. In conclusion, traditional salted Thunnus albacares and Scomberoides commersonianus were found to be microbiologically safe with good quality and storage stability of 10 weeks.

traditional salted fish, characteristics, storage stability, halophilic bacteria, safety, quality