MICROBIAL ASSESSMENT OF GARLIC ON THE SAFETY AND SHELF LIFE OF SMOKED TILAPIA FISH (Oreochromis niloticus)

Abstract

Fish has been playing an important role in addressing nutritional and livelihood security of people in thedeveloping countries. This work was carried out to assess the microbial assessment of garlic on the safety and shelf life of smoked tilapia fish (oreochromis niloticus). The microbial load counts (IVC, TCC and TFC cfu/g) and isolated microorganism were evaluated on smoked tilapia fish preserved for 0, 2, 4, 6. and 8 weeks with Sg of salt, garlic (natural preservatives) and untreated sample. Highest Bacteria Count (TVC) of 3.5 * 10° was recorded in salt sample at the 8 weeks of storage and highest fungi count (TFC) of 5.5 x 10°was recorded in untreated sample at week 2 of storage while highest coliform count (TCC) of 4.2x 10° is recorded in untreated samples at week 2 of storage and the microorganism isolated from the samples showed that the highest number of microorganism species was recorded in untreated sample with 8 species of microbes while the least was in garlic with 3 species of microbes. Statistical analysis shows a significant difference in the number of colonies formed between the groups at (p < 0.05). The preservative samples used in this work, reduced the microbial load, discourage quick spoilage, and encourage longer shelf-life of smoked tilapia fish.