Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXIII, Issue 1
Written by Magda NENCIU, Victor NIȚĂ, Aurelia ȚOȚOIU
An essential aspect for developing mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819) aquaculture at the Romanian Black Sea coast is the classification of culture areas from the microbiological point of view, in compliance with European Commission Regulation no. 854/2004. According to this document, the indicator species is the bacteria Escherichia coli and thresholds have been set to classify the bivalve culture areas for human consumption: for class A, no post-harvest treatment is required to reduce microbiological contamination, while for classes B and C purification, relaying or cooking by an approved method are mandatory. In this context, monthly samples were collected from three sampling points along the Romanian coast and the contamination of mussel tissue and intravalvular liquid with E. coli was analyzed. The reference method for analysis was the Most Probable Number (MPN), as mentioned by European standard EN/ISO 16649-3. The aim of this research was to assess the zoo-sanitary and food safety suitability of the most indicated areas for shellfish culture, previously selected taking into account the environmental constraints of the Romanian coast (no sheltered areas, currents, strong winter winds).
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