Microbial Flora of Funazushi (Pickled Crusian Carp)

Abstract

The change in microbial flora of Funazushi (pickled crusian carp) during storage was investigated by measuring the viable cell counts of lactic acid bacteria, anaerobic bacteria, aerobic bacteria, and yeast. The viable cell counts for the fish muscle and rice of funazushi reached the 10⁷ order per g and 10⁸ order per g, respectively, within one month after picking, and decreased after six months of storage. The viable cell counts for the rice were higher than those of the fish muscle by one order throughout the storage period. One of the lactic acid bacteria isolated from funazushi belonged to the Lactobacillus buchneri group.