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

The microflora on spoiled, sliced and vacuum packed, cold-smoked salmon from three smokehouses was quantified and characterized in two independent experiments. 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). Total viable counts of microorganisms alone were not related to quality, though 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 plantarum, Carnobacterium spp. and Leuconostoc spp. present in smaller numbers. In some cases, large numbers of Enterobacteriaceae were also present and identified species were Serratia liquefaciens, Enterobacter agglomerans and Hafnia alvei. The microflora on cold-smoked salmon appeared to be related to the source of contamination i.e. the raw material and/or the smokehouse rather than being specific for the product, thus rendering the identification of the specific spoilage organisms difficult. © 1999 Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.