Food > Fish and Seafood > Product Inspection > Standards and Methods Manual  

APPENDIX 2
BACTERIOLOGICAL GUIDELINES FOR FISH AND FISH PRODUCTS

Printer friendly PDF format

* The analysis of all fish or fishery products shall be conducted in accordance with approved methods

** Raw shucked or in the shell oysters, clams, mussels or other molluscs and whole scallops which comply with section 6(1)(b) of the Fish Inspection Regulations are considered satisfactory when Escherichia coli MPN per 100 g of shellfish meat does not exceed a MPN of 230 or if one of the five samples exceeds a MPN of 230 but is less than or equal to a MPN of 330, based on a 5-tubedecimal dilution test.

The pH and a_w determination should be done on 3 of 5 analytical units. None of the analysed units can fall into the range of pH and a_w supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes.

The designated analytical unit is taken from each sample unit.

Processed products which require cooking and which are clearly labelled with adequate cooking instructions are excluded from testing for L. monocytogenes.

NOTE: m - number of bacteria per gram separating acceptable from marginally acceptable samples
c - number of samples that may exceed this number of bacteria per gram
M - no sample can exceed this number of bacteria per gram

TABLE I: Compliance criteria for L. monocytogenes (Lm) in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods

Category	Action Level for Lm	GMPs Status	Nature of Concern
1. The list presently includesa: soft cheese, liver pâté, unacidified jellied pork tongueb, hot dogs/wieners, cold smoked rainbow troutc and processed deli turkey meat.	Detected in 50 gf	n/ah	Health Risk 1j
2. All other RTE foods supporting growth of Lmd with refrigerated shelf life >10 days (e.g., vacuum-packaged meats, modified atmosphere packaged sandwiches, refrigerated sauces).	Detected in 25 gf	n/ah	Health Risk 2j, k
3. RTE foods supporting growth of Lm with refrigerated shelf life 10 days (e.g., packaged salads) and all RTE foods not supporting growthe (e.g., ice cream, hard cheese, dry salami, salted fish, breakfast and other cereal products).	100 cfu/gg	Adequate GMPs	Health Risk 3j, l
	100 cfu/gg	Inadequate, absent or no information on GMPsi	Health Risk 2j, k
	> 100 cfu/gg	n/ah	Health Risk 2j, k

^a In establishing the Category 1 food list, considerations were given to RTE foods causally linked to documented outbreaks of listeriosis and/or to RTE foods that rated as "high risk" in the recent HHS/USDA risk assessment entitled "Quantitative Assessment of the Relative Risks to Public Health from Foodborne L. monocytogenes Among Selected Categories of Ready-to-Eat Foods (2003)".

^b At present, this product is not commonly found in the Canadian marketplace.

^c Synonymous names for rainbow trout (species Oncorhynchus mykiss) include: deep sea trout, steelhead trout and steelhead salmon.

^d For a definition of RTE foods supporting growth of L. monocytogenes see Appendix II.

^e A refrigerated RTE food not supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes includes the following:

1. pH 5.0 - 5.5 and a_w < 0.95
2. pH < 5.0 regardless of a_w
3. a_w 0.92 regardless of pH; or
4. frozen foods

The pH and a_w determinations should be done on at least 3 out of 5 analytical units. The food is presumed to support the growth of L. monocytogenes, if any one of the analytical units fall into the range of pH and a_w values which support the growth of the organism.

^f MFHPB-30 or equivalent; presence or absence by enrichment only (Pagotto et al., 2001; Compendium of Analytical Methods).

^g MFLP-74 or equivalent; enumeration done by direct plating onto selective agar (Pagotto et al., 2002; Compendium of Analytical Methods).

^h n/a - not applicable; independent of GMP status.

ⁱ No information on GMPs is considered as no GMPs. Burden of proof remains with the firm. Persistent presence of Listeria spp. in the plant environment and/or persistent low levels (100 cfu/g) of L. monocytogenes product contamination is an indication of inadequate GMPs.

^j For a definition of health risk categories, see Appendix II.

^k This becomes a Health Risk 1 concern if targeted or distributed to a sensitive population such as neonates, the elderly, pregnant women or immunocompromised individuals (AIDS patients, transplant recipients, cancer patients, etc.).

^l This could become a Health Risk 2 or Health Risk 1 concern if specifically produced for susceptible populations.

(The complete text of the "Policy on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods" is available on the Health Canada web site.)