Abstract
The present study is concerned with the bacteriological examination of retort pouched loach soup and soybean paste soup containing mud snail. It was found that before sterilization, viable cell counts (c.f.u/ml) in their media were for the loach soup 3.80${\times}$106 on TSA, 2.27${\times}$102 Endo agar, 5.20${\times}$102 on SS agar. With the culture media, SDA and TCBS, no microorgarnisms were isolated from the both soups. Sixteen species of microorgarnisms were identified for the unsterilized soups. In the loach soup on TSA, B. pantothenticus was the dominant species, followed by S. dysenteriae, C. sporogenes and some others were also identified, such on TSA, B. marinus was the dominant species, followed by S. aureus, S. saccharolytics and P. tetradius, S. adorifera, E. ictahuri, E. gergoviae, E. coli were also identified. On Endo agar, the two soups showed a similar bacteriological pattern, in which entrobacterium such as E. gergoviae and E. coli were identified. Particularly K. subsp. rhinoscleromatis for the loach soup. On SS agar, S. ficaria and P. prevotii in the loach soup, S. ficaria and P. tetradius in the soybean paste soup were identified respectively. Bacteriological examination was also carried out for the spoiled retort pouched soup in the market, in which thirteen microorgarnisms were isolated and its pattern almost similar to that before sterilzation. They were B. pantothenticus, S. dysenteriae, C. sporogenes, P. gergoviae, E. ictaluri, S. ficaria, K. subsp. rhinoscleromatis in the loach soup and B. marinus, S. aureus, S. saccharolytics, P. tetradius, E. ictaluri, S. ficaria, S. adorifera in the soybean soup.