**1. Introduction**

90 Salmonella – A Dangerous Foodborne Pathogen

Sinton, L. W. (2005). Survival of enteric bacteria in seawater: biotic and abiotic effects. In

Sinton, L., Hall, C., Braithwaite, R. (2007). Sunlight inactivation of Campylobacter jejuni and

Westwood, D. (1994). *The microbiology of water, methods for the examination and association materials, report on public health and medical subjects* No:71, HMSO, London.

Belkin). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, USA.

*Journal of water and health*, 5, 3, 357-65.

Oceans and Health: Pathogens in the Marine Environment (ed. R. R. Colwell & S.

Salmonella enterica, compared with Escherichia coli, in seawater and river water.

With more than 30.000 known species, sh form the biggest group in the animal kingdom that is used for the production of animal-based foods. About 700 of these species are commercially shed and used for food production. Further, some 100 crustacean and 100 molluscan species (for example mussels, snails and cephalopods) are processed as food for humans in fish industry (Oehlenschläger & Rehbein, 2009). However, some fishery product is processed in a modern fish industry which is a technologically advanced and complicated industry in line with any other food industry, and with the same risk of product being contaminated with pathogenic organisms (Huss, 1994).

The vast majority of outbreaks of food-related illness are due to pathogenic microorganisms, rather than to chemical or physical contaminants. As they are generally undetectable by the unaided human senses (i.e.they do not usually cause colour changes or produce off-flavours or taints in the food) and they are capable of rapid growth under favourable storage conditions (Lelieveld et al. 2003). The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that fish and shellfish account for 5% of the individual cases and 10% of all foodborne illness outbreaks, with most of the outbreaks resulting from the consumption of raw molluscan shellfish (Flick, 2008).

*Salmonella* is responsible for more than 40.000 cases of food-borne illness every year. The incidence of *Salmonella* infections has risen dramatically since the 1980s, leading to high medical costs, a loss of wages for workers who become ill, and a loss of productivity for the companies whose workers do become ill. In all, these financial losses can cost more than \$3.6 billion each year. *Salmonella* infections have long been a concern to scientists, doctors, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Brands, 2006). *Salmonella* is causing a public health problem associated with fish and fishery products. A monitoring of *Salmonella* has been suggested as a measure of fish quality. Also, risk management decisions should take into account the whole food chain from primary production to consumption, and should be implemented in the context of appropriate food safety infrastructures, for instance regulatory enforcement, food product tracing and traceability systems. In the fish processing chain managing risks should be based on scientific knowledge of the microbiological hazards and the understanding of the primary production, processing and manufacturing technologies and handling during food preparation, storage and transport, retail and catering (Popovic et al., 2010). Their presence in fish and fishery product is therefore seen as a sign of poor standards of process hygiene and sanitation (Dalsgaard, 1998).

Salmonella in Fish and Fishery Products 93

In some aquaculture systems animal manures are used in ponds to stimulate the production of algae. The use of non-composted manures can lead to production systems being

Improperly stored feed or feed prepared on a farm under poor hygienic conditions can be a

The water used in growout ponds, cages or tanks can be contaminated with *Salmonella* through wildlife runoff, untreated domestic sewage, discharge from animal farms, etc.

Aquaculture products can become contaminated with *Salmonella* through the use of

For example, for shrimp processing industry the information from literature indicates that the principal sources of *Salmonella* contamination are culture ponds, coastal water used for handling and processing of seafood (Hariyadi et al., 2005; Shabarinath et al., 2007; Upadhyay et al., 2010). Similarly, Pal and Marshall (2009) reported that the potential source of *Salmonella* contamination in farm-raised catfish is likely due to poor water quality, farm runoff, fecal contamination from wild animals or livestock, feed processing under poor sanitary conditions or distribution, retail marketing, and handling/preparation practices. Ray et al.,(1976) reported that the potential hazard in cooked fishery product is cross contamination of the cooked products with raw fishery product which might occur under commercial processing condition. Thus, good sanitation practices on the unloading docks and during transport to the processing facility are essential for preventing product contamination. The use of contaminated ice or uncleaned holding facilities may also contribute to the product contaminant load (Gecan et al., 1988). As a result, many factors including inadequate supplies of clean water, inadequate sanitary measures, lack of food hygiene and food safety measures have been responsible for increased incidence of

Deep-sea fish are generally *Salmonella* sp. free but susceptible to contamination post-catch.

proposed as playing an important role in the long-term survival of *Salmonella* in the environment (FAO, 2010). In raw seafood products mainly from tropical climates, there is a high prevalence of *Salmonella* whereas low prevalence or absence can be common in

*Salmonella* has been isolated from fish and fishery product, though it is not psychrotrophic or indigenous to the aquatic environment (Mol et al., 2010). The relationship between fish and *Salmonella* has been described by several scientists; some believe that fish are possible carriers of *Salmonella* which are harbored in their intestines for relatively short periods of time and some believe that fish get actively infected by *Salmonella*. The organism was never recovered from the flesh of the fish, but was isolated from viscera and epithelium (Pullela, 1997). Most outbreaks of food poisoning associated with fish derive from the consumption

unsanitary ice, water, containers, and poor hygienic handling practices (FAO, 2010).

**Fertilization of ponds** 

**Contaminated feed** 

source of *Salmonella*.

contaminated with *Salmonella*.

**Contaminated source water** 

**On farm primary processing** 

Water temperature has been

foodborne salmonellosis (Shabarinath et al., 2007).

temperate regions (Millard and Rocklif, 2004).

**4. Occurrence in fish and fishery product** 
