A total of one hundred random samples of ready to eat (RTE) fish products represented by fried Oreochromis niloticus, grilled Oreochromis niloticus, smoked Herring and salted Sardine (25 of each) were collected from different fish markets and restaurants in Menofia governorate, Egypt. The aim of this study was to evaluate the bacterial quality of the examined samples through isolation and identification of Enteropathogenic E. coli, Coagulase +ve S. aureus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The incidence of Enteropathogenic E. coli were 24%, 32%, 36% and 50 % in the examined samples of fried O. niloticus, grilled O. niloticus, smoked Herring and salted Sardine, respectively. While, Coagulase +ve S. aureus was detected in 32%, 44%, 52% and 72 % of the examined samples of fried O. niloticus, grilled O. niloticus, smoked Herring and salted Sardine, respectively. Furthermore, V. parahaemolyticus was isolated only from 20% and 36 % of the examined samples of smoked Herring and salted Sardine, respectively. As conclusion, bacterial examination of ready to eat fish products samples is a sensitive indicator verifying the quality and good hygienic status of RTE fish products.
Keywords: Bacterial hazards ; Fried O. niloticus ; Grilled O. niloticus ; Smoked Herring ; Salted Sardine