Fish Microbiology and Quality Assurance

Unit 9 - Assurance and management quality of fish

9.3.1. Standards for fish and fishery products
The standards for fish and fishery products are formulated with a aim to attain a minimum standard of cleanliness and hygiene in handling, processing and marketing of fish. These standards are also intended to guide and promote export or import of fishery products between countries.

Types of standards for fish and fishery products
Standards for fish and fishery products are groped in to 2 types;

1. Safety standards
Safety standards are those standards that help to protect the consumers’ health against damaging effect of food. Adherence to these standards involves adopting reasonable standards of hygiene, control on use of additives and prevention of contaminants thereby ensuring the fish and fishery products free from pathogens.

2. Composition standards
Composition standards help in protecting the consumer against any fraud by ensuring unadulterated, pure and of good quality fish and fishery products. Packages should contain the correct description, labeling, weights, etc

Several national and international standards and codes of practices that have been established for a variety of food products are successful in ensuring availability of a good quality and safe products in the market. The quality standards established for fish and fishery products can be broadly categorized in to national standards and international standards.

National standards
Many fish producing countries have established their own standards and codes of practice for fishery products. These national standards govern the quality and standards of fish and fishery products meant for local consumption as well as for export and import. Some of the national standards are; Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), British Standards (BS), United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), etc