Pseudomonads and achromobacters in the spoilage of irradiated haddock of different preirradiation quality

Abstract

The effect of initial quality of fish on postirradiation (100 krad) changes in the bacterial flora of haddock fillets during aerobic storage at 3 C has been investigated, with emphasis on the Pseudomonas and Achromobacter groups. The quality was related to the length of time the eviscerated fish had been stored in ice prior to filleting. Increased numbers of organisms, in particular Pseudomonas putrefaciens, were found initially on fillets cut from older fish. Pseudomonads were reduced by 2 to 3 log orders by irradiation, and achromobacters and gram-positive isolates predominated in the immediate postirradiation flora. Little difference could be detected in either types or relative proportions of organisms occurring during storage of unirradiated fish of different quality. Pseudomonads outgrew achromobacters and dominated the spoilage flora in all cases. After spoilage, however, the growth rate of pseudomonads declined markedly. In irradiated fish, achromobacters predominated throughout storage. In fish of better initial quality, bacterial numbers were 1 to 2 log orders higher at spoilage than in their unirradiated counterparts and in the poorer quality of irradiated samples. The increased number of organisms was accompanied by a radical change in the character of the predominant achromobacters. Pseudomonads were found to increase in numbers during storage of irradiated fish, in particular in poorer quality fish on which they were initially present in higher numbers. Detection of pseudomonads, even when present in high numbers, was found to be limited by the identification techniques normally used.