IMPORTANCE OF PHOTOBACTERIUM-PHOSPHOREUM IN RELATION TO SPOILAGE OF MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE-PACKED FISH PRODUCTS

Occurrence and growth of Photobacterium phosphoreum were studied in 20 experiments with fresh fish from Denmark, Iceland and Greece. The org anism was detected in all marine fish species but not in fish from fre sh water. Growth of P. phosphoreum to high levels (>10(7) cfu g(-1)) w as observed in most products and the organism is likely to be of impor tance for spoilage of several modified atmosphere-packed (MAP) marine fish species when stored at chill temperatures. Some microbiological m ethods recommended for control of fish products by national and intern ational authorities are inappropriate for detection of psychrotolerant and heat-labile micro-organisms like P. phosphoreum. These methods ha ve been used in many previous studies of MAP fish and this could expla in why, contrary to the findings in the present study, P. phosphoreum in general was not detected previously in spoiled MAP fish.