A study of hygiene practices, microbiological and chemical analysis of Kelantan fermented fish sauce (Budu).

Budu is a Malaysian indigenous fermented fish sauce which manufactured by mixing a whole small anchovies with salt in the ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 (fish:salt, w/w) and has been fermented between 6 to 12 months under the sun in a covered container. This study evaluated the hygiene practices of four budu processing factories in Kelantan (Budu BCK, Budu BCW, Budu BCP and Budu BCS). The processed products were transported to laboratory at ambient temperature and were analysed for microbial count, bacteria identification and chemical composition to determine the food safety. The results demonstrated that Budu BCK processing factory was classified as medium practices, Budu BCW and Budu BCS processing factories were classified as poor and Budu BCP processing factory was classified as very poor by good manufacturing practices (GMP) checklist assessments. The total viable counts of bacteria in budu were between 2.5 × 101 – 1.7 × 103 cfu/mL and significantly correlated (R2 = 0.8628) with factory hygiene practice results. Bacillus sp, Bacillus cereus, Entrococcus faecium, Staphylococcus carnosus, Staphylococcus piscifermentas, Staphylococcus sciuri and Uncultured bacterium clone were identified present in budu. The pH value of the budu ranged between 4.88 – 5.41 and the salt content ranged from 207.01 – 273.20 g/L. Moisture content and total nitrogen content ranges between 35.31 – 64.29% and 11.96 – 17.83 g/L respectively. The most abundant amino acid in budu was glutamic acid, followed by aspartic acid and phenylalanine in a decreasing order.