Organochlorine Pesticide Residues and Microbiological Quality Assessment of Dried Barb, Puntius sophore, from the Northeastern Part of Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study was carried out in the northeastern part of Bangladesh to investigate organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues in and microbiological quality of dried barb (Puntius sophore). Samples were collected from both producers and retailers from December 2016 to April 2017. A control sample was also prepared in the laboratory with the same raw fish used by the producers to compare the results. Gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD) was used to detect and quantify OCP residues. Six samples out of 27 (about 22%) were found to be contaminated with OCP residues. Among these six adulterated samples, four were from retailers and two from producers. Only aldrin was detected in four samples, and in the other two samples both aldrin + dieldrin and aldrin + endrin were detected. Aldrin was found in quantities between 0.332 and 0.967 ppm, dieldrin 0.762 ppm, and endrin 0.828 ppm. All these values were much higher than the maximum residual limit (MRL) of 0.1 ppm. Total plate count (TPC) of producer samples ranged from 5.3 ± 0.02 log cfu g−1 to 5.4 ± 0.03 log cfu g−1 and 6.2 ± 0.02 log cfu g−1 to 6.4 ± 0.02 log cfu g−1 for retailer samples and 5.0 ± 0.03 log cfu g−1 to 5.2 ± 0.04 log cfu g−1 for control samples. Fungal count ranged from 3.2 ± 0.04 log cfu g−1 to 3.5 ± 0.04 log cfu g−1, 3.4 ± 0.04 log cfu g−1 to 3.6 ± 0.03 log cfu g−1, and 2.2 ± 0.05 log cfu g−1 to 2.5 ± 0.03 log cfu g−1 for producer, retailer, and control samples, respectively. All the producer and retailer samples and one-third of the control samples were found to be contaminated with Escherichia coli, whereas Salmonella spp. were detected in amounts of 13.3% in producer samples and 20% in retailer samples and none in the control. In case of Vibrio spp., maximum count was found in retailer samples (13.3%), whereas producer and control samples showed none. The findings of the present study show that the presence of pesticides and poor microbiological quality of dried barb are alarming for consumers in Bangladesh and might cause prolonged disease and impending longstanding risk to human health.

Bacterial Flora Isolated From Dried Fishes Sold at Retail Markets Within Dhaka City Corporation of Bangladesh

“…The presence of E. coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus spp. in dried fish samples were also reported previously (Hasan et al, 2016;Hussain et al, 2018;Nur et al, 2020). Microbial growth in dried fishes could be a consequence of intentionalimproper drying to get more profit as complete drying cause weight loss.…”

Dried fish at the intersection of food science, economy, and culture: A global survey

“…Although the application of controlled or banned toxins, such as DDT and dichlorvos in fish drying or storage has been a recognized problem since the 1980s (Ames, 1990; Walker & Greeley, 1991), safe alternatives have yet to be adopted on a wide scale. Hazardous pesticide levels continue to be detected in dried and smoked fish samples, including from Nigeria (Musa et al, 2010), India (Payra et al, 2016), and Bangladesh (Bhuiyan et al, 2008; Chowdhury et al, 2010; Hussain et al, 2018; Siddique & Aktar, 2012).…”

Value addition of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Preparation of fillet and shelf-life assessment

“…One-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey's test were used to analyze values of parameters and the differences within variables employing SPSS (Version 23.0, IBM, USA). ANOVA of TPC was performed on log-transformed values to assure data normality (Hussain et al, 2018;Khalafalla et al, 2015). Values are expressed as mean  SD; p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.…”

“…Total plate count (TPC) was determined according to the method of Hussain et al (2018). About 20 g fish sample was homogenized with 180 mL sterile saline solution (0.85% NaCl) to prepare 1:10 sample suspension.…”