Application of sensory and microbial analysis to assess quality of fish in Siliguri city of West Bengal, India.

Sensory and certain microbial analyses were applied to assess the quality of raw fish sold at a market in Siliguri cityof West Bengal, India. In regular surveys undertaken during June to August 2008, a particular fish species was randomly selected, its source was noted and a sensory analysis, the quality index method (QIM) was applied to assess its quality Raw fish samples were also collected and a small quantity (about 1 g) of scales oran upper layer of the skin surface (forscale-less fish samples), gill, liverand a portion of gut with gut-contents were aseptically removed for enumeration of the total aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Salmonella spp. and coliform counts. Oreochromis mossambicus and Tenulosa ilisha recorded significantly higher QIM scores, compared to other species (p<0.05). Riverine fish, Lepidocephalichthys guntea and Channa punctatus scored the lowest QIM scores (0) while scores for Puntius ticto and Mystus vittatus and pond cultured species like Cirrhinus mrigala, Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Labeo bata and Cyprinus carpio were very marginal (p<0.05). Aeromonas spp., Salmonella spp. and total coliforms were recorded from all the studied species while Pseudomonas spp. was isolated from only seven species. Among the tissues examined, the lowest counts of total heterotrophic bacteria, Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Salmonella spp. and total coliforms were recorded from the skin in every fish species. Highest counts of pathogenic bacteria (except Pseudomonas spp.) were recorded in Tenulosa ilisha for all the tissues except liver. Since fish are properly cooked in Bengali households, the risk of disease from fish consumption is relatively less. However, some tribes residing in the region are known to consume undercooked fish and proper cooking methods should be followed in view of the present findings to avoid health risks. Besides, utmost care should be taken while handling fish.