MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SMOKED MACKEREL FISH (SCOMBER SCOMBRUS) SOLD IN ABAKPA DAILY MARKET, ENUGU_071949

CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Nigeria is one of the largest importers of fish and fishery products in Africa (Akande, 2000), this probably was due to the need to meet the short fall in domestic demand for fish. Fish is one of the cheapest sources of animal protein in Africa (The World Fish Center, 2009). It is one of the main food components of humans for many centuries and still constitutes an important part of the diet of many countries. The advantage of fish as a food is due its easy digestibility and high nutritional value. Since 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water, there are plenty sources to harvest fish from. Fishes are found in different waters. Some are found in fresh water while some are found in salt water (sea and oceans). However, the type of microorganism found associated with a particular fish depends on the water it was caught (Claucas and Ward, 1996). Kvenberg (1991) and Rodricks (1991) classified the bacteria pathogens associated with fish into two: the non-indigenous bacteria pathogen and the indigenous bacteria pathogens. The non-indigenous pathogen contaminate fish or fish's habitat in one way or the other and the, pathogens include Clostridium botulinum, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella species, Shigella species, Escherichia coli, etc. The indigenous bacteria pathogens are those naturally living in the fish's habitat. They are the Vibrio species, Aeromonas species etc. Claucas and Ward (1996) also listed some organisms like S. aureus, Salmonella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Monocytogenes, Shigella, Aeromonas, Yersenia and Pseudomonas that could cause food-borne diseases when present in ready-to-eat sea foods.