Prevalence of microbial contamination of fresh seafood product sold in Constantine, Algeria

The seafood products are considered as an important element in the Mediterranean diet and play a significant role in the appearance of diseases and food poisoning. Forty samples of seafood products from various provenances of eastern coast of Algeria were randomly collected from several retail markets at the Constantine region. Total bacterial counts of Aerobic Mesophilic bacteria, Salmonella spp., total and fecal coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Sulphite reducing anaerobes bacteria, Vibrio spp., were measured. 39 samples (97.5%) of the seafood product analysed, were inappropriate for human consumption, solely one sample 2.5 % of sardines were suitable for human consumption. Salmonella spp., was detected in one sample (3% of Sardines), Total and fecal coliforms were detected in 39 samples, Clostridium spp. were detected in 5 samples. No strain of Staphylococcus aureus and vibrio were detected. The results of this study constitute an indicator of bacteriological contamination and showed that samples markets were contaminated with potential pathogenic microorganisms.