Edible seaweed (Palmaria palmata) has traditionally been consumed rawafter harvesting from coastal shorelines around Northern Ireland.To date, there have been no reports examining the microbiology of this material, hence itwas the aimof this study to detect the diversity of themicro£ora found on readytoeat produce. Conventionalmicrobiological analyses of the product failed to detect any gastrointestinal pathogens and gave a mean total count of 1•3×105 cfug-1. 16S rRNA sequencing of culturable bacteria identified the Sanguibacter/Oerskovia/Cellulomonas complex, the Clavibacter/Frigoribacterium/urtobacterium complex, Enterobacter agglomerans, Erwinia herbicola, Flavobacterium spp., Micrococcus lylae, Microbacterium spp., Corynebacterium spp., and Dietza maris. A comparison of growth of isolated environmental organisms was performed to ascertain the most appropriate artificial culture media to employ for their culture in vitro. Tryptone soya broth with yeast extract (TSBYE) and brainfiheart infusion brothwith yeast extract (BHIYE) may be employed as suitable basal broth media for the laboratory culture of these organisms.This is the ¢rst preliminary report on the microbial diversity of edible seaweed and demonstrated the presence of several halophilic genera and species in fresh ready-to-eat edible seaweed from Northern Ireland. Although no gastrointestinal pathogens were cultured from this material, a larger study requiring examination of seasonal e¡ects, quality of marine water and e¡ect of drying on faecal pathogens, is required to support a functional HACCP-based approach to ensuring safety of this product.