Bacterial loads limits in marine foods may be found in BAM (bacterial Analytical Manual (BAM) but isolating marine bacteria requires different methods such as adjusting the salinity of the media with that of source. www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/.../ucm114664.htm

Here you can find the Microbial standards or limit in Marine foods. International Commission on Microbial Specifications for foods ( ICMSF ) especially for sea foods.

Dear Luis

That is very interesting question. Actually, currently there is no international agreement on ‘acceptable levels’ of Salmonella and other pathogens such as listeria, on food, including seafood and the criteria are differ substantially from country to country and between food authorities. A regulatory requirement for the absence of Salmonella sometimes referred to as a zero tolerance policy) has been established for raw seafood in Australia, New Zealand, the EU, Hong Kong and the US. The International Commission of Microbiological Specification for Food (ICMSF) also suggests that Salmonella should not be detected in 25 g raw seafood products.

For S. aureus please find the below link to find some information about the ICMSF regulation.

Some countries such as the US, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, and Italy have requirements for the absence of L. monocytogenes in 25 g of foods. On the other hand, other European countries (Germany, Netherland and France) have a regulatory tolerance of less than 100 cfu/g of this pathogen at the point of consumption.

Hope these information could give you an overview about the situation.

Sorry I forgot to insert the link. Here it is:

http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/organize/icmsf.htm