Microbiological contamination of imported frozen fish marketed in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

The present study was conducted to determine the bacterial contamination and prevalence of foodborne pathogens in imported frozen fish. A total of 450 imported fish samples [65 catfish (Pangasius pangasius), 45 mirgal (Cirrhinus mrigala), 135 tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), 50 carfoo (Cyprinus carpio), 75 Rohu (Labeo rohita), 35 milk fish (Chanos chanos) and 45 Mackerel (Rastrelliger brachysoma)] were randomly purchased from different supermarkets. The samples originated from 5 countries, namely, Thailand (n=260), India (n=75), Vietnam (n=35), Myanmar (n=35) and Bahrain (n=45). The isolation and identification were done according to standard bacteriological analytical methods. Out of total samples, 49.1% (95%CI: 44.52 to 53.72) were positive for foodborne pathogens. The highest percentage of positive bacterial contamination were from Vietnam milk fish, 65.7% (95%CI: 49.15 to 79.17), followed by Catfish from Thailand, 58.5% (95%CI: 46.34 to 69.64) and Mirgal from Thailand, 57.8% (95%CI: 4330 to 71.03). The leading bacterial contaminations and foodborne pathogens in these samples were: E. coli (18.6%), Enterococci (14.4%), Pseudomonas (14%) and Salmonella (16.8%), respectively. Correspondingly, the country with the highest odds for pathogens is Thailand, 1.0472 (95% CI: 0.8217 to 1.3347) and the fish with the highest odds for pathogens is Tilapia 0.6667 (95%CI: 0.4000 to 1.1112) followed by catfish, 1.4074 (95% CI: 0.8636 to 2.2938). In Saudi Arabia and to date, comprehensive data regarding the bacterial contamination and prevalence of foodborne pathogens in imported frozen freshwater fish are limited or not available.