B.SC undergraduate Project 

This study presents a comparative assessment of microbial contamination in fresh fish and seafood sourced from two different retail environments, a supermarket and an open fish market, in Sharjah (UAE). A total of 20 fishery samples, including fresh fish and seafood (such as shrimp, oyster, squid, etc.), were selected based on popularity and consumption rates. The Total Viable Count (TVC) was monitored to assess the microbiological quality. The results (TVC data) revealed a higher microbial load in fishery samples obtained from a retail supermarket compared to those from the open fish market, suggesting that transportation, prolonged storage, repackaging, and inadequate temperature regulation in supermarket may contribute to higher numbers of aerobic spoilage bacteria, leading to quicker spoilage compared to fish (open) market. This research highlights the need for a) enhanced temperature control and transportation, especially during summer months, of both fresh fish and seafood species b) hygiene measures and c) microbial monitoring (quality control) in both market types, to ensure fish and seafood safety, protecting public health.