Food quality, including safety, is a major concern facing the food industry today. A number of surveys have shown that consumer awareness about quality of their food is increasing. The extensive of microorganism (total coliform, Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella sp.), growth promoters, residues of pesticide and dioxin, antibiotics etc. make fear and unease to consumer about what they eat. Moreover, Bangladesh export fish to developed countries and they are very conscious to their food quality rather than price. Therefore, the current study was undertaken to evaluate effectiveness of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) in the investigated processing plant. For this purpose, microbial status of Cooked IQF (Individual Quick Freezer) shrimp was assessed. In addition to SWAB tests of water, ice and different contact surface of shrimp were also conducted to assess the magnitude of contamination during processing. The abundance of total aerobic bacteria, total coliform, Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella sp. were determined in Cooked IQF (Individual Quick Freezer) process. In Cooked IQF Shrimp, while the MPN count of total coliform of the sample was <3, V. cholerae and Salmonella were not detected. A large amount of water is used in the fish processing plant, which is a superior source of microbial contamination of finish products. For good quality finish product, hygienic water management is now a prime concern. In the current investigation, the SPC of normal water, UV radiated water, ice, receiving table, grading table and panning tray, worker’s hand were 8.66 ± 0.45 cfu cm-2, 0 cfu ml-1, 5 ± 0.36 cfu ml-1, 45 ± 0.63 cfu cm-2, 91.33 ± 0.81 cfu cm-2, 79.33 ± 1.09 cfu cm-2, 42.33 ± 0.54 cfu cm-2 respectively, which were under the limit of international standard. In conclusion, the result of the present study implies that the hygienic condition of the investigated fish processing plant was good and the quality of Cooked IQF shrimp was excellent for export.
