Food Research Sample: Saltwater Fish (Tuna) INTRODUCTION The availability of saltwater fish products on the market depended on the operations of coastal fishing vessels. A species widely consumed throughout the world is tuna (Thunnus sp.). Tuna is widely available in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The nutritional content of tuna, both bluefin and yellowfin tuna according to the USDA's National Nutrient Database, can be viewed in Table 1 (1). The nutritional composition of fish varies from species to species. It is likely that the variety in nutritional composition was based on sex, age, season, water temperature, and type and abundance of available food (2). A recent fishing study indicated that fishing method can affect the freshness of cod meat (3). Fishing methods including size and duration of harvest and direct gutting prior to the storage period. Olsen et al. (2013) also concluded that the fishing method will influence muscle pH, blood pH, glucose and lactase concentration during the rigor period (3). It is likely that these factors are also responsible for the number of microflora in the flesh of saltwater fish. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4580 & http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4587 Most saltwater fish are well known as healthy diet as they are considered a good source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. An example of an omega-6 fatty acid is linoleic acid, while omega-3s are made up of linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (19). According to the study, cod contains 300 mg/100 g concentrated EPA and...... half of the paper ...... logical content of tuna significantly since the limited amount of oxygen in the fish flesh will disturb the life of aerobic microorganism. Recent publication by Pivarnik et al. (2011) stated the important treatment of filtered smoke using 16% CO on tuna steak. However, statistical analysis demonstrated that there is no evidence that the microbial, chemical and sensory quality of untreated tuna compared to filter-smoked tuna is significantly different. The filtering smoke treatment can enhance the color of the tuna and affect the consumer's purchasing perception. The MPN content indicated 4 MPN/g and the EMB agar result confirmed that it does not contain fecal coliforms but other Enterobacteriaceae. It's probably because tuna lives in the pelagic habitat of the ocean, far from the coast. It is considered free from fecal coliforms which can be the microflora of river water.