Increasing consumer demand for seafood is expected to continue worldwide as well as in Singapore. Based on literature, consuming seafood particularly that are raw or undercooked can pose food safety risk to consumers. To assess the microbiological quality and safety of seafood sold at retail in Singapore, a cross-sectional study was conducted over a 3-year period of 2016-2018.
A total of 1,147 seafood (raw, ready-to-eat) samples were purchased from various retail outlets such as markets, supermarkets and food establishments for the testing of standard plate count, coliforms count, E. coli count and common foodborne pathogens. Salmonella, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringens were not detected in any of the ready-to-eat seafood samples collected from food establishments in this study. However, these pathogens were detected, though at relatively low occurrence (<5%), in raw seafood from markets and supermarkets. Vibrio parahaemolyticus was detected in both raw (15.6%) and ready-to-eat (0.5%) seafood respectively, while Listeria monocytogenes was detected in less than 1% of the raw and ready-to-eat seafood samples tested. Compared to the ready-to-eat samples (mean 4.1 log CFU/g), raw seafood (mean 4.8 log CFU/g) samples were found with a relatively higher standard plate count which serves as a proxy for hygiene assessment.
Our study provides baseline microbiological data of seafood available in Singapore. The findings reinforce the significance of proper food hygiene and safety measures from farm to fork to prevent contamination in seafood.