For those looking to better understand the intricacies of the Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) protocol, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed a series of videos aimed at getting the seafood industry and regulators up to speed.
The video series consists of six parts and discusses concepts taken from the FDA’s “Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance.” The topics tackled by the series include: time-temperature indicators; time and temperature controls during unrefrigerated processing; secondary processor receiving and storage controls; heat process validation; primary processor scombrotoxin controls, specifically overview and testing at receiving; and primary processor scombrotoxin controls, specifically harvest vessel records.
A summary of what each video segment contains has been detailed by the FDA below:
- Time-Temperature Indicators (TTIs) discusses using TTIs to control growth and toxin production by Clostridium botulinum in refrigerated, reduced oxygen packaged seafood products. This video also includes discussions about the different types of C. botulinum, and controlling C. botulinum through the use of multiple barriers or freezing.
- Time and Temperature Controls during Unrefrigerated Processing discusses how to control pathogen growth during unrefrigerated processing of raw ready-to-eat and cooked ready-to-eat seafood products. This video also includes discussions on evaluating time and temperature exposures during unrefrigerated processing and developing time-temperature profiles.
- Secondary Processor Receiving and Storage Controls discusses receiving and storage controls for Secondary Processors to control scombrotoxin formation and pathogen growth in seafood products. This video also includes discussions on continuous temperature monitoring, and accuracy checks and calibration of temperature recording equipment.
- Heat Process Validation discusses the general factors to consider when validating heat processes for seafood products. This video includes discussions on identifying the target pathogen, pathogen reduction, verifying pathogen reduction, and identifying the controls and critical limits to include in the HACCP plan to ensure a consistently safe product.
- Primary Processor Scombrotoxin Controls – Overview and Testing at Receiving discusses the general strategies recommended by FDA for preventing scombrotoxin formation at the receiving critical control point. This video discusses how scombrotoxin is formed, the types of fish susceptible to scombrotoxin formation, monitoring internal temperatures, conducting sensory examinations, and histamine testing considerations.
- Primary Processor Scombrotoxin Controls – Harvest Vessel Records discusses the Harvest Vessel Record control strategy recommended by FDA for preventing scombrotoxin formation at the receiving critical control point. This video discusses onboard chilling parameters for different harvest conditions, factors to consider when landing both live and dead fish, and the types of recorded observations, that when included on harvest vessel records, demonstrate that the fish were harvested, handled, and stored aboard the vessel in a manner that prevents scombrotoxin formation.
Access the videos here: http://www.fda.gov/Food/PopularTopics/ucm341987.htm
