Abstract
<jats:p>The purple dye murex (Bolinus brandaris), a species of edible marine gastropod, is caught for human consumption in Mediterranean countries, including Croatia. When harvested for human consumption, marine gastropods are subject to European Food safety legislation. In this study, standard microbiological methods were used to determine the presence of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli in 48 samples of Bolinus brandaris caught in the Adriatic Sea off the western coast of Istria. Salmonella spp. were absent in all of the samples. E. coli was below the quantification limit of the method in 85.4% of samples. Four samples (8.3%) contained the most probable number (MPN) of E. coli between 18 and 230. Three samples (6.3%) contained E. coli in amounts between 230 and 700, and none of the samples exceeded 700 MPN/100g. While these marine gastropods contained low numbers of E. coli, and were safe regarding Salmonella, further studies are required to assess the presence of other microorganisms and contaminants.</jats:p>