Microbiological, histamine and 3-MCPD contents of Malaysian unprocessed ‘budu’

Unprocessed ‘budu’ is a mixture of anchovies and salt that has been fermented for a period of time, and has not been heat-treated nor formulated with additional ingredients. This study analyzed Malaysian unprocessed ‘budu’ from 12 producers for microbiological, salt, protein, histamine and 3-MCPD contents. The results demonstrated that Malaysian unprocessed ‘budu’ were free from pathogenic Coliform, E. coli, V. parahaemolyticus and V. cholerae contaminations. Carcinogenic 3-MCPD was below detection level of 2 ppb for all 12 samples tested. However, 58% of the unprocessed ‘budu’ had histamine content greater than the hazardous levels of 50 mg/100 g sample.