visible discolouration such as red spots are considered as nonacceptable (Codex, 2003). The pH, water- and salt-content of dried salt-cured cod could also influence the lag phase of red halophilic microorganisms. To study this, linear regression revealing dependence of red halophilic microorganisms on pH, water- and salt content, were performed. The results are given in Table 3. Salt content and pH were not significant (P > 0.05), while water content was significant (P < 0.05) for the length of the lag phase as shown in Eq. (1)