Quality Assessment of Edible Fish Species at Flood Basin of Omambala River, South East Nigeria

Background: Food poisoning resulting from microbial and heavy metals pollution is commonplace. These contaminants do not only reduce the nutritional value of the food but are in many cases toxic. In this study, the proximate composition, bacterial quality and some heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg) concentration in three common fish species (Claria gariepinus, Heterobrachus bidorsalis and Channa obscura) found in flood basin of Omambala River in Anambra, Nigeria were evaluated from 2016 to 2017. Methods: Wet digestion was used for the samples preparation and AOAC methods were adopted for the proximate analysis. Standard aerobic pour-platetechniques were used for bacterial enumeration while heavy metal concentrations were determinedusing Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Results: All the fish species had high protein, moisture, lipid, ash and minerals contents. Mean bacteria count of 3.36x106cfu/g was observed in C. gariepinus while C. obscura had mean bacterial count of 3.23x106cfu/g and H. bidorsalis had mean bacterial count of 3.40x106cfu/g. C. gariepinus had a cadmium and lead concentration of 0.012±0.012mg/kg, and 0.0043±0.0012mg/kg respectively while C. obscura had 0.010 ± 0.005mg/kg and 0.037 ±0.013mg/kg of cadmium and lead. H. bidorsalis had 0.011 ± 0.002mg/kg, and 0.048 ± 0.005mg/kg of cadmium and lead respectively. Conclusion: All the fish species are good sources of nutrient. The microbial and heavy metals concentrations were within the acceptable international limits for heavy metals in foods. However, the presence of these toxicants in the samples is a source of concern in relation to the health of the consumers.