Food > Fish and Seafood > Shellfish Sanitation > Manual of Operations CHAPTER 10 - POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR CONTROLLED RELAYING AND DEPURATION(Please see Section 1 - Introduction for Adobe download file) 10.4 Natural and Extended Container Relay Protocols All companies engaged in a natural or extended container relay operation (greater than or equal to 14 days) must conform to the following criteria: 10.4.1 Harvest Areas Harvesting may occur in any classified areas not identified as prohibited. 10.4.2 Storage Facilities As in 10.2.2 c). 10.4.3 Shellstock Separation Requirements Defined lots of relayed shellfish are separated by at least 10 metres to avoid cross contamination with other shellfish and to maintain the identity of relayed lots. 10.4.4 Laboratory As in 10.2.4. 10.4.5 Operational Controls See 10.2.5 a) and b) where applicable. Shellfish shall not be mishandled or subjected to thermal shock. Lots of shellfish destined for natural/extended container relay must remain in water for a minimum of 14 days. Shellfish for relay must be placed in or on a shellfish lease and in an area that is clearly marked off to identify the relay site. 10.4.6 Records As in Section 10.2.6 (see Annex 10A). Any federally registered facility processing this product must verify as part of their Critical Control Point (CCP) for incoming product that appropriate procedures have been followed. 10.4.7 Routine Natural/Extended Container Relay Monitoring Lots of shellfish relayed from 14 to 30 days must be analysed for faecal coliforms with a minimum of 1 sample. Lots of shellfish that are relayed in excess of 30 days may be exempt from the testing requirement, at the discretion of CFIA.
10.4.8 Process Deviations A lot is acceptable if no sample has a faecal coliform count greater than 230/100 g (after the minimum 14-day relay period). All deviations must be immediately reported to CFIA for product disposition. If the lot exceeds this limit, the following options may be provided:
10.4.9 Release Product that meets the final hour limits referenced in Section 10.4.8 may be released to market. Product shall remain under the control of the establishment until released. |
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