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Morganella morganii is a psychrotolerant organism recognized as a histamine-producing bacteria by decarboxylation of histidine amino acid, it has been involved in cases of histamine fish poisoning reported in different seafood products. In this study, we collected a total of 125 random samples of frozen Mackerel fish stored at -18°C from different fish markets in New Valley Governorate, Egypt. Through isolation from the tissue of fish samples on Chromogenic agar plates, bacteria forming light brown colonies were identified. Confirmatory identification of bacteria was conducted using 16S rRNA as a species-specific gene, revealing the presence of 14 M. morganii strains from samples, representing an incidence of 11.2% of all samples. Morganella morganii is a prominent adaptive nosocomial bacterium that can cause urinary tract infections and bacteremia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pH of fish muscle is an important index for quality assessment, but the traditional methods using a pH meter and probe/electrode are destructive, time-consuming, and laborious, making them unsuitable for on-line meat-quality monitoring. Hence, an approach of using fluorescence fingerprints (FFs) for the non-destructive prediction of pH in frozen fish fillets was trialled. Sixty-three live horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicus) and spotted mackerel (Scomber australasicus) were freshly harvested, sacrificed instantly, then preserved in ice, filleted, vacuum-packed, and frozen. Subsequently, the FFs of all frozen fillets were recorded using a fibreoptic-equipped fluorescence spectrometer, and the corresponding pH values of the samples were measured. After pre-processing, the masked FFs were modelled using partial least squares regression (PLSR) for the prediction of pH values. The results revealed that the developed method was accurate enough for predicting the pH changes in frozen horse mackerel and spotted mackerel fillets with R2 = 0.71 and R2 = 0.90, respectively. The proposed technique could be utilized as a rapid and non-contact alternative to traditional pH electrodes for the quality monitoring of fish products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Seafood-borne illnesses are a common but under recognised source of morbidity. We report the case of an 80-year-old woman who presented to hospital after collapsing in a restaurant following lunch consisting of mackerel fish. A detailed food history and clinical exclusion helped diagnose the condition as scombroid poisoning. The patient made a complete recovery following antihistamine therapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]