Abstract:For evaluating the safety of Huanghua shrimp paste and improving its traditional process，the microbiological and physicochemical properties of Huanghua shrimp paste were systematically studied.The aerobic bacterial count，halophilic bacteria count，fungal count，pathogenic enterobacteriaceae count，lactic acid bacteria count and proteolytic bacteria count were investigated by the selection/differentiation media.The general physicochemical indicators and the contents of malondialdehyde，nitrate，volatile base nitrogen and biogenic amines of Huanghua shrimp paste were measured using spectrophotometry，high performance liquid chromatography and so on.The results showed that aerobic bacterial counts of most samples（＜3 lgCFU/g）were up to standard；halophilic bacteria existed in all samples；fungi were not detected in most samples and those counts in the rest of samples were also low （＜2 lgCFU/g）；pathogenic enterobacteriaceae was detected in most samples（＜3.16×102 lgCFU/g）；lactic acid bacteria and proteolytic bacteria were not detected in all samples.In all samples，the content of sodium chloride （＜25%）was qualified，pH value was at the range of 7.0-8.0，and water activity was at the range of 0.70～0.90.The moisture content of most samples （65%-80%）exceeded the standard.Malondialdehyde （＜5 mg/kg），nitrite （＜0.50 mg/kg），volatile base nitrogen （＜450 mg/100 g）and biogenic amines （＜550 mg/kg）were detected in all samples.In general，in some extent，the problems of safety were existed in both homemade Huanghua shrimp paste and industrial Huanghua shrimp paste.By contrast，the safety of industrial shrimp paste was superior to that of homemade shrimp paste.