AEROBIC MICROBIAL FLORA OF SMOKED SALMON1

Aerobic microbial flora, moisture, and NaCl contents of smoked salmon samples, obtained from retail outlets along the roast of the Pacific Northwest, were examined. The microbial loads ranged from 1.3 × 102 to 2.2 × 106. The moisture level were from 48 to 64%, and the water phase salts from 3.2 to 8.2. Regularly recoverable microorganisms in most samples were gram-positive cocci. They were either mostly staphylococci micrococci, depending on the sample. Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and yeasts were predominant in some samples. The gram-positive cocci were able to grow in 10 to 25% NaCl, but the majority of them did not multiply at 4 C and were readily inactivated by mild heat (D52C of 1.5 to 47.9 min).