The determination of total microbial count and prevalence of Salmonella in the shrimp supply in Khuzestan province

Background and Objective: Food-borne diseases are among the most important public health problems. Among them, Salmonella is one of the most important food pathogens. Different Salmonella serotypes enter body through food and causes food infections in consumers. One of the most important evaluation criteria for health is to determine the microbial load of food. Materials and Methods: In this study, 245 shrimp samples supplied in Khuzestan province were taken randomly. The samples kept on ice were transferred to the laboratory and immediately tested microbiologically. Results: In this study, in 50.2 percent of the samples, the average number of bacteria per mL of the rinse water used to rinse the shrimps was 2200 bacteria, in 29.8 percent of the samples, it was 13600 bacteria and in 20.0 percent of the samples, the average number of bacteria per mL of the rinse water, it was 36700 bacteria. Based on these results, the average number of bacteria in the total samples was 20000 bacteria per mL rinse water. Out of the total samples assessed 33 samples were positive and 212 were negative for Salmonella, showing a 13.4 percent prevalence of Salmonella contamination in the shrimp production in Khuzestan Province. Conclusion: Due to the microbial load and Salmonella contamination in shrimp supply in the province of Khuzestan raw or undercooked consumption of shrimps can increase the possibility of problems for consumers