CHARACTERISTICS OF LACTIC-ACID FLORA IN V ACUUM-PACKED SMOKED SALMON

The purpose of the present work was to carry out a detailed study of l actic Flora selected From vacuum packed smoked Atlantic salmon. Random ly picked colonies isolated on MRS Agar and on a modified plate count agar were identified on the basis of their fermentation and biochemica l characteristics using the API 50CHL and API 20 Strep (BioMerieux). T he lactic acid bacteria more often isolated from smoked salmon were La ctobacillus delbrueckii (25.6%), Lactococcus lactis (25.6%), L. brevis (13.9%) and Leuconostoc mesenteroides (9.3%). About 50% of the isolat ed bacteria could be capable of producing bacteriocins or antibacteria l proteins with activity against foodborne pathogens such as L. monocy togenes, Staph. aureus and Cl. botulinum. Further studies on the antim icrobial action of these isolated bacteria must be carried out in orde r to select strains of lactic acid bacteria suitable for biopreservati on of fish products.