Hi DFRM,
Thanks for data.
Do you have target micro. specifications for finished product ? For raw material (frozen salmon fillet?) ? YES i have a spec for raw salmon from all my suppliers, for example here is one set of micro limits for their salmon as delivered from their end.
Total Viable Count @ 300C <10000cfu/g (Target) 50000cfu/g Limit
Enterobacteriaceae <100fu/g (Target) (Limit) 1000fu/g
Coliforms <10cfu/g (Target) 100cfu/g (Limit)
Escherichia coli <10cfu/g (ta4rget) 10cfu/g (Limit)
Pseudomonas <100cfu/g (Target) 1000cfu/g(Limit)
Salmonella Not Detected/ 25g T(Target) Detected/ 25g (Limit)
Listeria monocytogenes Not Detected/25g(Not Detected) Detected/ 25g (Limit)
Listeria spp Not Detected/25g (Target) Detected/25g (Limit)
Staphylococcus aureus <25cfu/g (Target) 50cfu/g (Limit)
I assume all the numbers are cfu/gram YES
I assume all the "<"s actually mean"not detected" by some appropriate counting method.YES - the lab is ukas acredited, im not a micro guy so cant explain why this is the case, i note sometimes on various labs i have used over the years that when they see something but isnt high enough to count properly they state < a figure. like for example i had one sample that stated that listeria was detected but the enumeration (which i understand to be more important) was < than 10cfu/g or more importantly <20cfu/g which i believe to be the ready to eat threshold legally in UK
Re - Raw Sample
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "Raw Salmon Sample". RAW sample means the the raw salmon material as received in a polystyrene box packed in ICE, then cut in to a portion or side (for the brine / cold smoke / roasting processes,)
Do you mean raw Salmon steak/fillet as initially received ? received frozen/vac.pac ?? then held 5 days chilled? YES - the raw salmon comes with a pack date only, i never understood why this is the case but it is for salmon at least, and is the case for 3 of my suppliers who 2 of which hold BAP certification and other certifications such as BRC.The 5 days is what we apply to essentially Sushi Grade /sushimi grade salmon, i.e salmon that is FARMED and filleted /portioned and sold raw to be then used by the consumer in sushi / sushimi dishes.
Unclear what 1M Presumptive Pseudomonas actually means ? Why not confirmed ? All i know is the lab is ukas accredited and use a method coded as: ISO 13720:2010 This may mean something to you but not I....maybe i should ask the lab this question as i presume that like if a listeria was high they would confirm? as part of that ISO method? i dont know though just guessing.
And a similar, but more muted, comment for the yeast data. (How many days incubation ?) Yeast method is based on practical food microbiology 2003 section 6.17 Method 1, again may mean something to you but not I..
And a maybe similar comment for the anaerobic TVC count (no direct experience).
Re cooked data -
I deduce +21 days means 21 days in chilled storage after production. Around 5degC ? YES <3.4°c once the product is cooked and chilled it is packed and given a shelf life of +21 days in Vac Pack. (before you ask, clostridium bottulinuum controls are in place we ensure WPS >3.5% and Aw <0.95 in our brine process.)
What level of core cooking temperature/time is involved ? Hopefully not low. Correct the product undergoes progressive cooking from bottom of the kiln and end up at the top, at this point temperature is checked and once 72°c is achieved at the core of several samples it is cooked for a further TIMED 10 minutes before being removed. During initial resting period out of kiln it should also be noted the product takes around 40 minutes to drop below 72°C so its still cooking long after its brought out of kiln.. if that makes sense...
No experience anaerobic counts but, as per yr OP, I guess the 2 sets cooked data look plausible other than yeast counts.
Offhand, seems curious that 1M cfu/gram Pseudomonas readily disappeared on cooking. Again i dont understand the result of Pseudomonas as it makes nose sense to me why it was that high, lab error? possible although unlikely high in raw material to start with? possible (have asked for their latest micro results but may not include the actual batch supplied) in house hygiene? possible but never detected Pseudomonas on any food contact equipment. or site for that matter.
Maybe, minimally, need to test another pair raw material samples.( yes this is my plan anyways but wanted to understand if i needed to first coz yeast made no sense and now neither does the pseudomonas come to think of it, thanks for that Charles 
