The microflora of farmed gilthead seabream stored in ice and the effect of washing of the fish with tap water were examined in different culture media and incubation temperatures. Washing reduced the number of microorganisms in all culture conditions studied. For unwashed and washed lots the highest number of bacteria were obtained on spread plates in Iron Agar + 0.5% NaCl incubated at 15 °C, H2S-producing microorganisms constituting a high percentage of the total flora. The correlation, up to the sensory rejection point, between bacterial counts and sensory score for the raw fish varied with washing and with the culture conditions, and was higher for the H2S-producing microorganisms.

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