Comparison of the microflora isolated from spoiled cold-smoked salmon fromthree smokehouses

The microflora on spoiled, sliced and vacuum packed, cold-smoked salmon fro m three smokehouses was quantified and characterized in two independent exp eriments. Large variations in the microflora were observed both within (i.e . among vacuum packs from the same batch) and among the smokehouses. Lactic acid bacteria dominated the microflora, which reached 10(7) cfu g(-1). Tot al viable counts of microorganisms alone were not related to quality, thoug h spoilage characteristics were typical for microbiological spoilage. Among the lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus curvatus (ca 52-55%) was the most common species in both experiments with Lactobacillus sake, Lactobacillus p lantarum, Carnobacterium spp. and Leuconostoc spp. present in smaller numbe rs. In some cases, large numbers of Enterobacteriaceae were also present an d identified species were Serratia liquefaciens, Enterobacter agglomerans a nd Hafnia alvei. The microflora on cold-smoked salmon appeared to be relate d to the source of contamination i.e. the raw material and/or the smokehous e rather than being specific for the product, thus rendering the identifica tion of the specific spoilage organisms difficult. (C) 1999 Canadian Instit ute of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.