Enumeration of Aerobic Plate Count and E. coli During Blue Crab Processing by Standard Methods, Petrifilm™, and Redigel™

Abstract

Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) samples were collected from commercial processing plants in Louisiana and examined for microbiological quality. The major processing steps were evaluated for effects on aerobic plate count (APC) and for sources of E. coli. The reliability of simple in-plant rapid microbiological methods (Redigel™, Petrifilm™ standard plate count, and Petrifilm™ E. coli) was compared with that of standard methods. The APC increased significantly during overnight cooling prior to picking, and no consistent patterns of E. coli contamination were observed. There were no significant differences (p < 0.05) between the rapid and standard APC methods, and the rapid E. coli method appeared to be more sensitive for detecting E. coli than the standard method.