FDA Home Page |
CFSAN Home | Search/Subject Index | Q & A | Help
National Shellfish Sanitation Program
Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish
2003
Model Ordinance
IX. Transportation
Table of Contents
Requirements for the Authority
@.01 General.
- The Authority shall apply these requirements to all shellfish
shipped
in interstate commerce.
- The Authority shall assure that:
(1)
|
Shellfish are transported
and maintained in accordance with
the requirements of this Chapter; and |
(2)
|
Shellfish shipments
originate from a dealer. |
- The Authority shall use the temperatures included in the
sections below
entitled @.02 Shipment Acceptability, @.03 Shipment Rejection, and @.04
Bacteriological
Examination of Shellfish Shipments as the initial basis for taking
regulatory
action against any shellfish shipment in interstate commerce.
- If an interstate shipment of shellfish is monitored, the
monitoring
shall take place within 24 hours of the shellfish entering the State.
@.02 Shipment Acceptability. Shellfish shipments
shall
be considered acceptable
when:
- Shipments are properly identified with tags and/or labels and shipping
documents;
- Shellstock is alive and cooled to an internal shellstock body
temperature of 50° Fahrenheit (10 ° Centigrade)
or less;
- Shucked or post harvest processed shellfish are cooled to a temperature of 45° Fahrenheit
(7.2 ° Centigrade) or less; and
- The time-temperature indicating device shows that the ambient
air temperature has exceeded 45° Fahrenheit (7.2 ° Centigrade)
but the shellstock internal body temperature is 50 ° Fahrenheit
(l0 ° Centigrade) or less; and
- All other conditions of shipment in this Chapter are met.
Additional Guidance - IV Guidance Documents
@.03 Shipment Rejection.
- Shellfish shall be rejected when:
- (1)
Shellfish are not properly
identified with tags or shipping
documents;
- (2)
The internal shellstock
body temperature exceeds 60° Fahrenheit
(15.6 Centigrade) unless the harvest initiation time can be documented
and indicates that the time from harvest has not exceeded the
requirements in Chapter VIII §@.03;
- (3)
Shucked shellfish exceeds 50°
Fahrenheit (10°
Centigrade); or
- (4)
The Authority determines
that the product is unwholesome or
unsafe for human consumption.
- The Authority shall notify the shipping dealer, the receiving
dealer,
and the Authority in the State where the shipment originated of the
shipment's
rejection.
@.04 Bacteriological Examination of Shellfish Shipments.
If the State chooses to sample, the following protocol shall be used.
- Bacteriological samples of any shellfish taken for the purpose
of rejection of shipments from out-of-state dealers shall be collected
within twenty-four hours of the shellfish entering a State.
- Bacteriological examination shall be made of the shellfish
shipment if:
(1)
|
The internal body
temperature of the shellstock exceeds 50° Fahrenheit
(10° Centigrade) and is less than
or equal to 60° Fahrenheit (15.6° Centigrade)
unless the harvest initiation time can be documented and indicates that
the time from harvest has not exceeded the requirements in Chapter VIII
§@.03; |
(2)
|
The shucked shellfish
temperature exceeds 45° Fahrenheit
(7.2° Centigrade) and is less than or equal to 50°
Fahrenheit
(10° Centigrade); |
(3)
|
The shipping time exceeds
four hours and there is no
temperature recording device or the recording device is inoperative; or
|
(4)
|
The Authority determines it
is necessary. |
Requirements for the Harvester/Dealer
01. Trucks or Other Vehicles Used to
Transport Shellstock to the
Original Dealer.
- The harvester, or dealer who transports shellstock from the
harvester to the original dealer, shall assure that all trucks used to
transport shellstock are properly constructed, operated, and maintained
to prevent contamination, deterioration, and decomposition.
- Storage bins on trucks or other vehicles used in the transport
of shellstock for direct marketing shall be:
(1)
|
Kept clean with potable
water or water from an approved area
or conditionally approved area in the open status; and |
(2)
|
Provided with effective
drainage. |
- Shellstock shall be transported in adequately refrigerated
trucks when the shellstock have been previously refrigerated or when
ambient air temperature and time of travel are such that unacceptable
bacterial growth or deterioration may occur.
- Prechilling trucks or other vehicles shall be required when
ambient air temperatures are such that unacceptable bacterial growth or
deterioration may occur.
- When mechanical refrigeration units are used, the units shall
be:
(1)
|
Equipped with automatic
controls; and |
(2)
|
Capable of maintaining the
ambient air temperature in the
storage area at temperatures of 45° Fahrenheit (7.2° Centigrade)
or less. |
- Any ice used to cool shellstock during transport shall meet the
requirements of Chapter XI.02A.(2).
- Cats, dogs, and other animals shall not be allowed in any part
of the truck or other vehicle where shellstock is stored.
02. Receiving Shellfish
- The dealer shall reject or discard any shellfish shipments
which:
(1)
|
Do not originate from a
licensed harvester or dealer; and/or |
(2)
|
Are unwholesome,
inadequately protected, or whose source
cannot be identified. |
- Transportation agents or common carriers used by a dealer are
not required to be certified.
- The dealer shall:
(1)
|
Inspect incoming shellfish
shipments to assure that the
shipments are received under the conditions required in this Chapter; |
(2) |
Place shellstock under temperature control within 2 hours after receipt from the harvester, or when the dealer is also the harvester, when shellstock reaches the dealer's facility; |
(3)
|
Ensure that shellstock are
not permitted to remain without
ice, mechanical refrigeration, or other approved means of lowering the
internal body temperature of the shellstock to, or maintaining it at,
50°
Fahrenheit (10° Centigrade) or less for more than 2
hours
at points of transfer such as loading docks; |
(4)
|
Ensure that shucked
shellfish are not permitted to remain
without ice, mechanical refrigeration, or other approved means of
maintaining shellfish temperature at 45° Fahrenheit (7.2°
Centigrade) or less; and |
(5)
|
Ensure that frozen
shellfish remain frozen. |
- For the purpose of this section, temperature control is defined as the management of the environmental temperature of the shellstock by means of ice, mechanical refrigeration or other means approved by the Authority.
.03 Transportation Containers.
- All containers used to transport shellstock shall be:
(1)
|
Constructed to allow for
easy cleaning; and |
(2)
|
Operated and maintained to
prevent product contamination. |
- All containers shall be cleaned with:
(1)
|
Potable water; and |
(2)
|
Detergents, sanitizers, and
other supplies acceptable for
food contact surfaces. |
.04 Cargo Protection From Cross Contamination.
- General. All containers used for storing shellfish shall be
clean and fabricated from safe materials.
- Shellfish Cargo Only.
(1)
|
The entire cargo shall
consist of shellfish products only. |
(2)
|
Except for bulk shipments,
shellstock shipments shall be
shipped on pallets. |
(3)
|
If the conveyance does not
have a channeled floor, pallets
shall be used for all shellfish. |
- Mixed Cargoes. Shellfish shall be shipped as part of a mixed
cargo of seafood or other food product only when:
(1)
|
Shellfish products are
protected from contamination by the
other cargo; |
(2)
|
All cargo is placed on
pallets; and |
(3)
|
No other cargo is placed on
or above the shellfish unless
all cargo is packed in sealed, crush resistant, waterproof containers. |
- Ice. Any ice used to cool shellfish shall meet the requirements
of Chapter XI.02A.(2).
.05 Shipping Times.
- Shipping Time is No More Than Four Hours.
(1)
|
When the shipping time is
four hours or less, the dealer
shall ship all shellfish:
(a) |
Well iced; or |
(b) |
Using other acceptable
means of refrigeration. |
|
(2)
|
When mechanical
refrigeration units are used, the units
shall be equipped with automatic controls and shall be capable of
maintaining the ambient air in the storage area at temperatures of
45°
Fahrenheit ( 7.2°Centigrade) or less. |
(3)
|
The dealer shall not be
required to provide thermal
recorders during shipment. |
(4)
|
Lack of ice or other
acceptable types of refrigeration shall
be considered an unsatisfactory shipping condition. |
- Shipping Time is Greater Than Four Hours.
(1)
|
When the shipping time is
greater than four hours, the
dealer shall ship all shellfish in:
(a) |
Mechanically
refrigerated conveyances which are equipped with automatic controls and
capable of maintaining the
ambient air in the storage area at temperatures of 45° Fahrenheit
(7.2° Centigrade) or less; or |
(b) |
Containers with an
internal ambient air temperature maintained at or below temperatures of
45° Fahrenheit (7.2° Centigrade) or less. |
|
(2)
|
Unless the dealer has an
approved HACCP plan with an
alternate means of monitoring time-temperature, the initial dealer
shall assure that a suitable time-temperature recording device
accompanies each shipment of shellfish. |
(3)
|
The initial dealer shall
note the date and time on the
temperature-indicating device, if appropriate. |
(4)
|
Each receiving dealer shall
write the date and time on the
temperature-indicating device, if appropriate, when the shipment is
received and the doors of the conveyance or the containers are opened. |
(5)
|
The final receiving dealer
shall keep the time-temperature
recording chart or other record of time and temperature in his files
and shall make it available to the Authority upon request. |
(6)
|
An inoperative
temperature-indicating device shall be
considered as no recording device. |