The schematic outlines three steps to determine product hazards that are linked to production, species and processing/product, and the potential test requirements.
In step one, determine if the production source is farmed or wild. The production hazards are related to the use of drugs in farmed/aquaculture fish production.
In step two, identify the species and determine whether the species is associated with a hazard. The species hazards are related to contaminants / heavy metals, histamine, marine toxins and sanitary waters (molluscan shellfish)
Step 3, involves evaluating the product processing, end use, and preservation. The processing/product hazards are related to the processing and preservation method. The hazards are linked to three product categories; canned, RTE and Non RTE, which are further subdivided in accordance with the preservation/ processing methods.
For canned products, the preservation/processing method is sterilized; for RTE products, there are 4 different preservation methods: cooked, pasteurized in the container, safety parameters and no safety parameters or heat. For Non RTE products, there are 4 different preservations/processing methods: live, raw, blended/mixed ingredients and breaded.
For each of the sub-product risk group, the hazard and test requirements (Micro, container/ package integrity and package permeability) are dependent on the storage temperatures (Room temperature, refrigerated; frozen) and the product shelf life (long or short). In addition, for all the product the following test should be considered: additives; sensory; allergens (label) and net weight. The final test requirements are determined from the assessment of the hazards related to production, species and processing/product.