Division D REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING PARASITESX1F1

Food business operators placing on the market the following fishery products derived from finfish or cephalopod molluscs:

1. (a)

   fishery products intended to be consumed raw; or

2. (b)

   marinated, salted and any other treated fishery products, if the treatment is insufficient to kill the viable parasite;

must ensure that the raw material or finished product undergo a freezing treatment in order to kill viable parasites that may be a risk to the health of the consumer.

For parasites other than trematodes the freezing treatment must consist of lowering the temperature in all parts of the product to at least:

1. (a)

   – 20 °C for not less than 24 hours; or

2. (b)

   – 35 °C for not less than 15 hours.

Food business operators need not carry out the freezing treatment set out in point 1 for fishery products:

1. (a)

   that have undergone, or are intended to undergo before consumption a heat treatment that kills the viable parasite. In the case of parasites other than trematodes the product is heated to a core temperature of 60 °C or more for at least one minute;

2. (b)

   that have been preserved as frozen fishery products for a sufficiently long period to kill the viable parasites;

3. (c)

   from wild catches, provided that:

   1. (i)

      there are epidemiological data available indicating that the fishing grounds of origin do not present a health hazard with regard to the presence of parasites; and

   2. (ii)

      the competent authority so authorises;

4. (d)

   derived from fish farming, cultured from embryos and have been fed exclusively on a diet that cannot contain viable parasites that present a health hazard, and one of the following requirements is complied with:

   1. (i)

      have been exclusively reared in an environment that is free from viable parasites; or

   2. (ii)

      the food business operator verifies through procedures, approved by the competent authority, that the fishery products do not represent a health hazard with regard to the presence of viable parasites.

1. (a)

   When placing on the market, except when supplied to the final consumer, fishery products referred to in point 1 must be accompanied by a document issued by the food business operator performing the freezing treatment, stating the type of freezing treatment that the products have undergone.

2. (b)

   Before placing on the market fishery products referred to in points 3(c) and (d) which have not undergone the freezing treatment or which are not intended to undergo before consumption a treatment that kills viable parasites that present a health hazard, a food business operator must ensure that the fishery products originate from a fishing ground or fish farming which complies with the specific conditions referred to in one of those points. This provision may be met by information in the commercial document or by any other information accompanying the fishery products.