MICROFLORA OF FERMENTED PUFFER FISH OVARIES IN RICE-BRAN FUGUNOKO NUKAZUKE

Microbial flora of an indigenous food to Japan, fermented puffer fish ovaries, ''fugunoko nukazuke'', were examined. Samples used for the examinations were salted ovaries of puffer fish Fugu stictonotum for 2 months and 1 year, exudate from ovaries after 2 months' and 1 year's salting, ovaries fermented in rice-bran for 4 months and 2 years, and rice-bran fermented for 4 months and 2 years. The viable bacterial counts obtained from these samples were different depending on the culture conditions and manufacturing process. However, high counts of 107 cfu/g and 107 cfu/ml were obtained in some samples of fermented rice-bran and exudate. Most isolates which were tolerant to high levels of salt concentration can be tentatively divided into four groups: lactic acid cocci, halophilic anaerobes, Pseudomonas-like halophiles, and halophilic archaea. These four groups of bacteria were found in salted ovaries and exudate, while in the samples fermented with rice-bran the dominant microflora were lactic acid cocci. Bacillus, Corynebacterium, and Staphylococcus were also isolated, but the counts of these were much lower.