All Oiva evaluation guidelines for registered food premises.
8.8 Parasite Checks and Freezing Treatment of Fishery Products
Guide/version: 2154/04.02.00.01/2021/5, valid from 2.1.2023
To be taken into consideration:
- This point is evaluated at food premises where:
- Fish is gutted or filleted (parasite checks, all fish species)
- Ready-to- eat fishery products are produced, and the treatment of the fish is not adequate to kill the viable parasites (freezing treatment).
- Fish species exempt from the freezing treatment are salmon and rainbow trout farmed in the Atlantic, rainbow trout and sturgeon farmed in Finland, and Baltic herring and sprat caught in the Baltic Sea. In addition, other farmed fish species may be exempted from freezing treatment if the conditions laid down in the Evira decision (1773/0959/2012) are met.
- It is recommended that the inspection of point 8.10 Organoleptic quality of fishery products be carried out at the same time.
Matters to be controlled:
- Parasite checks of fresh fish are carried out in compliance with Annex II, Chapter II of Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005.
- Freezing treatment required due to parasite risk: freezing treatment is carried out for ready-to-eat fishery products, if other treatment of the fish is not adequate to kill viable parasites, in compliance with Annex III, Section VIII, Chapter III, Part D of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, unless they have been exempted from the freezing treatment.
- Submission of information on the type of freezing treatment (combination of time and temperature) to the receiving food business operator in a commercial document, product label, contract or other document.
- Fishery products with a national exemption from the freezing treatment (Baltic herring and sprat) are only supplied to the Finnish market. Considering approved establishments: the receiving food business operator is informed of this supply restriction in the submitted documents.
- When ready-to-eat fishery products placed on the market from farmed fish species other than salmon and rainbow trout farmed in the Atlantic, or rainbow trout and Atlantic sturgeon farmed in Finland have been exempted from the freezing treatment, the operator has the documents provided by the fish farmer as required by the Evira decision (1773/0959/2012).
- The adequacy and suitability of own-check, and the plan, are controlled applying the Annex to Guideline 1.6: "Adequacy and Suitability of Own-check Activities".
Operations comply with requirements.
While gutting the fish, visual inspections for parasites are performed continuously (manual evisceration) or for a representative number of fish (at least 10/batch; mechanical evisceration).
Fish fillets or slices are inspected visually for parasites during trimming and filleting or slicing.
A record is kept of parasite findings.
In freezing treatment, the product temperature is brought down to – 20 °C for at least 24 hours or to – 35 °C for at least 15 hours. The freezing treatment is documented, and the receiving operator is informed of the type of treatment used, in writing.
The receiving operator is informed of any restrictions for placing the product on the market in commercial documents or otherwise in writing (approved establishments).
There are small issues with the operations which do not impair food safety or mislead consumers.
For example:
Parasite inspections are mainly performed in compliance with the requirements, but individual batches have not been inspected, or there are minor shortcomings in the records.
As a rule, the freezing treatment is carried out in compliance with requirements, but there are minor shortcomings in the records.
The operator receiving products subjected to freezing treatment is not always informed of the type of the freezing treatment (time and temperature combination).
There are issues with the operations which impair food safety or mislead consumers. These issues must be rectified within a set period of time.
For example:
Parasite checks are only carried out on a random basis.
All products or product groups that require the freezing treatment due to a parasite risk do not undergo the treatment.
Documents concerning products with a national exemption from the freezing treatment do not contain information on supply restrictions (approved establishments).
There are issues with the operations which jeopardise food safety or considerably mislead consumers, or the operator has failed to comply with orders that have been issued. These issues must be rectified with immediate effect.
For example:
Parasite checks are not carried out.
Fish with parasites in the parts intended for human consumption have been used as foodstuffs.
The freezing treatment is not carried out on any of the product groups that require the treatment due to a parasite risk.
Fishery products with a national exemption from the freezing treatment, the manufacturing process of which is not adequate to kill viable parasites, have been supplied to other EU countries.
Legislation and guidelines (with any amendments) pertaining to the subject:
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, Annex III, Section VIII, Part D
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005, Annex II, Chapter II
- Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on food hygiene 318/2021, 31 §, 38 §, 43 §
- Evira's Guide 16023: Control of fishery products
- Decision of Evira 1773/0959/2012: Exemption of farmed fish from the freezing treatment required for certain fishery products, 15 March 2012.
Updates in version 5:
- The guideline will also be applied to registered food premises. Earlier, in registered food premises, the freezing treatment was inspected in point 5.1.
- A clarification was added to the section “To be taken into consideration” on the placing on the market of national fishery products exempted from the freezing requirement and to the examples that the requirement for a written notification of the delivery restriction only applies to approved food premises.
- The sections “To be taken into consideration” and “Matters to be controlled” were specified, and evaluation examples were modified.
- The recommendation to examine the point 8.10 Organoleptic quality of fishery products at the same time was added.
8.10 Organoleptic quality of fishery products
Guide/version: 7618/04.02.00.01/2022/2, valid from 2.1.2024
The evaluation is not shown in the Oiva report, only in the inspection report.
To be taken into consideration:
- This guideline applies to all food premises where the following fishery products are handled or sold:
- Fresh whole or gutted fish
- Live or fresh shellfish
- Organoleptic checks should be carried out as part of official controls whenever possible during landing, reception, production, storage and retail of fishery products.
- Organoleptic inspection ensures that the fishery products are fit for human consumption on the basis of their organoleptic characteristics.
- In organoleptic examination, the freshness rating criteria in accordance with Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2406/96 shall be used, whenever applicable. Fish freshness is evaluated based on the appearance of the skin, outer slime, eyes, gills, peritoneum and meat as well as meat firmness and the odour of the fish. For shellfish, the properties examined for freshness rating include the surface and colour of and meat adherence to the shell or shield; the firmness of the meat; the odour; and the presence of foreign matter.
- Operators handling fishery products shall carry out organoleptic checks as part of their own-check activity. As comes to the species listed in Regulation (EC) No 2406/96, food business operators must ensure that fishery products meet the basic freshness criteria according to the regulation. For other species, the applicable criteria to be used are defined by the operator.
- Laboratory tests are not required to assess organoleptic quality.
- Parasite checks of fresh fish are evaluated in point 8.8.
- Shelf-life testing of products in approved food premises are evaluated in point 17.10 and in registered food premises in point 17.1.
- It is recommended that when inspecting this point, the inspection of point 8.8 Parasite checks and freezing treatment of fishery products is also carried out.
Matters to be controlled:
- Organoleptic quality of fishery products when the operator receives fishery products, during production, storage, distribution and retail of fishery products.
- Fishery products are fit for human consumption on the basis of their organoleptic characteristics.
- The adequacy and suitability of own-check activities and, where appropriate, the plan are controlled by applying the Annex to guideline 1.6 “Adequacy and Suitability of Own-Check Activities”.
Operations comply with requirements.
Fresh fishery products are organoleptically examined as part of the operator's own-check activities and only fishery products of good organoleptic quality are used and sold for human consumption.
Fishery products meet the basic organoleptic criteria for freshness.
There are small issues with the operations which do not impair food safety or mislead consumers.
For example:
Fresh fishery products are subjected to organoleptic checks as part of the operator's own-check activities, but some batches remain unchecked.
There are small issues in the procedures of organoleptic checks or determination of evaluation criteria for organoleptic checks as part of the own-checks.
Fishery products meet the basic organoleptic criteria for freshness.
There are issues with the operations which impair food safety or mislead consumers. These issues must be rectified within a set period of time.
For example:
The organoleptic examination of fishery products is not carried out at all as part of the operator's own-check activities or the plan for managing the organoleptic quality is very incomplete.
Fishery products of clearly impaired organoleptic quality are used for human consumption. For example, some fish show significant damage or signs of decay.
There are issues with the operations which jeopardise food safety or considerably mislead consumers, or the operator has failed to comply with orders that have been issued. These issues must be rectified with immediate effect.
For example:
Products of poor organoleptic quality, such a batch of fish with several specimens in the state of decay, is supplied for human consumption.
Dead crayfish are received or delivered for human consumption.
Legislation and guidelines (with any amendments) pertaining to the subject:
- Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 on food law, art. 14
- Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs
- Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, Annex III, section VIII, chapter V, point A
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2019/627, art. 70 and Annex VI, Section I, Chapter III, Part A
- Council Regulation (EC) No 2406/96
- Food Act 297/2021
- Finnish Food Authority’s Guide Kalastustuoteohje 3039/04.02.00.01/2022 (only in Finnish and Swedish)
Updates to version 2:
- To be taken into consideration, added/modified:
- Organoleptic checks should be carried out as part of official controls whenever possible during landing, reception, production, storage and retail of fishery products.
- In organoleptic examination, the freshness rating criteria in accordance with Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2406/96 shall be used, whenever applicable.
- As comes to the species listed in Regulation (EC) No 2406/96, food business operators must ensure that fishery products meet the basic freshness criteria according to the regulation. For other species, the applicable criteria to be used are defined by the operator.
- Matters to be controlled, added: Fishery products are fit for human consumption on the basis of their organoleptic characteristics.
- Evaluation examples, added to B: There are small issues in the procedures of organoleptic checks or determination of evaluation criteria for organoleptic checks as part of the own-checks.
- Evaluation examples, added to C: or the plan for managing the organoleptic quality is very incomplete.
- Finnish Food Authority’s Guide Kalastustuoteohje updated to the list of guidelines.