PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 1 of 10   1 Scope 1  2 This standard applies to fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna intended for direct consumption as 3 sashimi. 4  5 2 References 6  7 The titles of the standards and publications referred to in this standard are listed on the back 8 cover. 9  10 3 Definition of terms 11  12 For the purpose of the standard, the following terms shall mean: 13  14 3.1 Chilling refers to the process of cooling fish to a temperature approaching that of 15 melting ice. 16   17 3.2 Clean seawater refers to seawater which meets the same microbiological standards as 18 potable water, and is free from objectionable odor and substances. 19  20 3.3 Contaminant refers to any biological or chemical agent, foreign matter, or other 21 substances not intentionally added to the food, which may compromise food safety or its 22 suitability. 23  24 3.4 Dressed tuna refers to the portion of fish remaining after be-heading, gutting and fins 25 trimmed. Also referred to as Headless, Gutted and Tailless (HGT). 26  27 3.5 Fresh fish refers to fish or fishery products that have received no preserving treatment 28 other than chilling. 29  30 3.6 Frozen fish refers to fish that have been subjected to a freezing process sufficient to 31 reduce the temperature of the whole product to a level low enough to preserve the inherent 32 quality of the fish, and that have been maintained at this low temperature. 33  34 3.7 Glazing refers to the application of a protective layer of ice formed at the surface of a 35 frozen product by spraying it with, or dipping it into, clean seawater, potable water or potable 36 water with approved additives, as appropriate 37  38 3.8 Tuna loin refers to longitudinal quarter of the great lateral muscle freed from skin, 39 scales, visible blood clots, bones, gills, viscera and from the non-striated part of such muscle, 40 which part (known automatically as the median superficial muscle) is highly vascular in 41 structure, dark in color because of retained blood, and granular in form.  42  43 3.9 Potable water refers to water suitable (both health and acceptability considerations) 44 for drinking and cooking purposes. 45  46 3.10 Saku bar is a Japanese term referring to a rectangular block derived from tuna loins. 47  48 3.11 Sashimi tuna is a Japanese term referring to bite size tuna slices, generally eaten as 49 raw, served as a delicacy.  50 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 2 of 10   4 Description 1  2 4.1 Product description 3  4 The product is of prime quality tuna prepared for sashimi and presented either in these 5 following forms: 6  7 a) whole round; 8 b) whole gilled and gutted (GG); 9 c) dressed; 10 d) loins; and 11 e) saku bars. 12  13 4.2 Process description 14  15 Properly caught and killed tuna are bled; prepared into forms as defined in Section 4.1; and 16 subjected to any of the processing methods described below: 17  18 4.2.1 Fresh-chilled 19  20 Rapid cooling and chilling should be applied to fish throughout the handling process. 21  22 a) The whole round; whole gilled and gutted (GG); and dressed tuna are chilled in clean 23 seawater ice-slurry, and stored in ice maintained at 00C to 40C. 24 b) Other tuna product forms are subjected to immediate chilling temperature of 00C to 25 40C using other appropriate methods (e.g. direct icing and other forms of refrigeration). 26  27 4.2.2 Fresh-frozen 28  29 All tuna product forms are immediately frozen to a core temperature of -300C or lower using 30 appropriate freezing methods, and followed by storage at -180C or lower.  31  32 5. Essential composition and quality factors 33  34 5.1 Basic ingredients 35  36 5.1.1 Raw material (Tuna) 37  38 The product shall be prepared from fresh quality tuna weighing 35 kg and above. 39  40 5.1.2 Water 41  42 Water for washing, cleaning, glazing and cooling shall be potable as defined in Section 3.9. 43  44  45  46  47 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 3 of 10   5.2 Final product 1  2 5.2.1 The final product shall meet the requirements of this standard when lots examined in 3 accordance with Section 12 and comply with the provisions set out in Section 11. Products 4 shall be examined by the methods given in Section 10. 5  6 5.2.2 The final product shall not have more than 20 ppm of histamine, based on the average 7 of the sample unit tested. 8  9 5.2.3 The final product shall have meat color and condition scores of 50 to 40 as described 10 in Annex A. 11  12 5.2.4 The final product shall conform to the following microbiological quality requirements 13 in Table 1: 14  15 Table 1 – Microbiological quality requirements 16  17 Test/Microorganism n c m M 1. APC/SPC, cfu/g 2. E. coli, MPN/g 3. Salmonella/25g 4. Shigella 5. Staphylococcus aureus (coagulase +), cfu/g 6. Vibrio cholera 7. V. parahaemolyticus, cfu/g 8. Listeria monocytogenes 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 5x105 11 0 0 103 0 102 0 107 500 - - 104 - 103 -  18 Legend: 19 n -number of sample units selected from a lot of food to be examined 20 m -acceptable level of microorganism determined by a specified method; the valuesare generallybased 21 on levels that are achievable under GMP 22 M -level which when exceeded in one or more samples would cause the lot to be rejected as this 23 indicates potential health hazard or imminent spoilage 24 c -maximum allowable number of defective or marginally acceptable units    25  26 6 Food additives 27  28 No food additives permitted. 29  30 7 Contaminants 31  32 The products shall comply with the maximum level of contaminants as specified in Annex B. 33  34  35  36  37  38 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 4 of 10   8 Hygiene and handling 1  2 The products shall be prepared and processed under hygienic conditions in accordance with 3 the Revised Guidelines on Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing, 4 Repacking, or Holding Food (DOH AO No. 153 s. 2004) and its future amendments, the 5 ASEAN-CANADA Fisheries Post-Harvest Technology Project – Phase II: Improved Quality 6 Control for Handling and Processing of Fresh and Frozen Tuna At Sea and On Shore, and the 7 following Codex Recommended Codes of Practice (CAC/RCP):  8  9 a) General Principles of Food Hygiene (CAC/RCP 1-1969); and  10 b) Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (CAC/RCP 52-2003). 11  12 9 Packaging and labeling 13  14 9.1 Packaging 15  16 The products shall be packaged in appropriate food grade containers. Packaging can be done 17 individually or in bulk. 18  19 All cartons for the shipping of either fresh or frozen tuna must be new, clean, and sound.  20  21 9.2 Labeling 22  23 The product shall be labeled according to the provisions of the Codex General Standard for the 24 Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (CODEX STAN 1-1985), the Rules and Regulations 25 Governing the Labeling of Prepackaged Food Products Distributed in the Philippines (DOH-26 BFAD/FDA Administrative Order No. 88-B series of 1984) and its future amendments. 27  28 9.2.1 Retail package/container (for loins and saku bars)  29  30 Each retail product package shall be labeled and marked with the following information: 31  32 a) The name of the product shall be “Fresh-chilled” or “Fresh-frozen” and the 33 corresponding English or common/local name with its scientific name in parenthesis, 34 e.g. Fresh-chilled Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) or Fresh-frozen “Bariles” 35 (Thunnus albacares). The products may be labeled with the following forms as 36 presented in Section 4.1. The products may be called by other common/local names 37 provided that such names are accepted in the country of distribution; 38 b) The net content by weight in the metric system (grams or kilograms) and/or number of 39 pieces. The net weight based on other systems of measurement required by importing 40 countries shall appear in parenthesis after the metric net weight. Where the product has 41 been glazed, the declaration of net contents of the product shall be exclusive of the 42 glaze; 43 c) The label shall state that the product must be stored under conditions to maintain the 44 best quality during transport, storage and distribution (e.g. keep frozen, keep chilled, 45 store at temperature not exceeding 40C if chilled or -180C if frozen); 46 d) The name and address of either of the following: manufacturer, packer, distributor, 47 importer, exporter or vendor; 48 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 5 of 10   e) The lot identification code/number; 1 f) The words “Product of the Philippines” or the country of origin if imported; and 2 g) The pictorial presentation (optional). Pictorial presentation of the product on the label 3 should not mislead the consumer with respect to the product so illustrated. 4  5 9.2.2 Non-retail container (for whole round; whole gilled and gutted; dressed and loins) 6  7 Information on the above provisions shall be given either on the container or in accompanying 8 documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification, and the name and address of 9 the manufacturer or packer as well as storage instructions, shall appear on the container.  10  11 However, the lot identification and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer may 12 be replaced by an identification mark, provided that such mark is clearly identifiable with the 13 accompanying documents. 14  15 10 Methods of sampling, examination and analysis 16  17 10.1 Method of sampling 18  19 Sampling of lots for examination of the final product shall be in accordance with the General 20 Guidelines on Sampling (CAC/GL 50-2004). A sample unit is the individually packed product 21 or a 1kg portion from bulk containers. 22  23 10.2 Method of sensory and physical examinations 24  25 Samples taken for sensory and physical examination shall be assessed by persons trained in 26 such examination using the Guidelines for the Sensory Evaluation of Fish and Shellfish in 27 Laboratories (CAC/GL 31-1999). 28  29 10.3 Methods of analysis 30  31 10.3.1 Determination of histamine 32 According to the AOAC 977.13. 33  34 10.3.2 Determination of heavy metals 35 According to the Codex Recommended Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CODEX STAN 36 234-1999) or an equivalent analysis method. 37  38 10.3.3 Determination of microorganisms in Table 1 39 According to the procedure described by FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM), 40 published by AOAC, 2001, 12th Edition or the latest edition or an equivalent analysis method. 41  42 10.3.4 Determination of net weight 43  44 10.3.4.1 Determination of net weight of products not covered by glaze 45 The net weight (exclusive of packaging material) of each sample unit representing a lot shall 46 be determined in the frozen state. 47  48  49 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 6 of 10   10.3.4.2 Determination of net weight of products covered by glaze 1 As soon as the package is removed from low temperature storage, open immediately and place 2 the contents under a gentle spray of cold water. Agitate carefully so that the product is not 3 broken. Spray until all ice-glaze that can be seen or felt is removed. Remove adhering water 4 by the use of paper towel and weigh the product in a tare pan. 5  6 10.3.5 Procedure for the detection of parasites (Type 1 method) 7  8 The entire sample unit is examined non-destructively by placing appropriate portions of the 9 thawed sample unit on a 5 mm thick acryl sheet with 45% translucency and candled with a 10 light source giving 1500 lux 30 cm above the sheet. 11  12 10.3.6 Thawing 13  14 10.3.6.1 Air thaw method 15 Frozen fish are removed from the packaging. The frozen fish are individually placed into snug 16 fitting impermeable plastic bags or a humidity controlled environment with a relative humidity 17 of at least 80%. Remove as much air as possible from the bags and seal. The frozen fish sealed 18 in plastic bags are placed on individual trays and thawed at air temperature of 250C or lower. 19 Thawing is completed when the product can be readily separated without tearing. Internal fish 20 temperature should not exceed 70C. 21  22 10.3.6.2 Water immersion method 23 Frozen fish are removed from the packaging. The frozen fish are sealed in plastic bags. 24 Remove as much air as possible from the bags and seal. The frozen fish are placed into a 25 circulating water bath with temperatures maintained at 210C + 1.50C.Thawing is completed 26 when the product can be easily separated without tearing. Internal fish temperature should not 27 exceed 70C. 28  29 10.3.6.3 Other methods as appropriate. 30  31 11 Definition of defectives 32  33 The sample unit shall be considered as defective when it exhibits any of the properties defined 34 below. 35  36 11.1 Freezer burn 37  38 More than 10% of the declared weight of the frozen whole or choice cut tuna is affected by 39 dehydration evident in more than 10% of the surface area. 40  41 11.2 Foreign matter 42  43 The presence in the sample unit of any matter which has not been derived from tuna 44 (excluding packing material), does not pose a threat to human health, and is readily recognized 45 without magnification or is present at a level determined by any method including 46 magnification that indicates non-compliance with good manufacturing and sanitation 47 practices. 48  49  50 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 7 of 10   11.3 Odor 1  2 Presence of distinct objectionable odor indicative of decomposition. 3  4 11.4 Color 5  6 Discoloration characterized by fading, greening or darkening of the characteristic color of the 7 product. 8  9 11.5 Texture 10  11 Textural breakdown of the flesh, characterized by softening muscle structure. 12  13 11.6 Parasites 14  15 Presence of parasites or parasitic infestation (pinholes) in the tuna meat. 16  17 12 Lot of acceptance 18  19 A lot shall be considered as meeting the requirements of this standard when: 20  21 a) the total number of defective sample units as classified according to Section 11 does 22 not exceed the acceptance number (c) of the appropriate sampling plan (AQL-6.5); 23 b) the average net weight of all sample units is not less than the declared weight, provided 24 there is no unreasonable shortage in any individual container; and 25 c) the essential composition and quality factors, food additives, contaminants, hygiene 26 and handling, and labeling requirements of Sections 5, 6, 7,8 and 9, respectively, are 27 met. 28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  48 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 8 of 10   Annex A 1  2 Table 2 – Point score system for grading tuna 3  4 I. Color scores 1. Very good (50)      a. Meat is translucent, glossy.      b. Colors are bright red (reddish).      c. Fat is clearly visible.  2. Good (40)      a. Meat is little translucent, and less glossy.      b. Colors are less bright red (reddish).      c. Fat just visible in outer layers.  3. Medium (30)      a. Meat is translucent, and has lost its gloss.      b. Colors are a little dull, may appear a little brownish.      c. No fat visible in outer layers.  NOTE:The natural color of tuna is affected by many factors. The most important one being the freshness, fat content, and time of exposure to the air. Freshly cut surface of tuna meat are dark, and become bright red as the tissues take up oxygen. It is important to remember this factor when grading, you must wait 30 minutes after the notches are cut.  II. Condition scores 1. Very Good (50)      a. No apparent defects/damage (no rips, tears, cuts and abrasions).      b. Scales intact.      c. Fish looks as though it has just been lifted from the water, natural body colors bright.      d. Flesh at notch very firm, springs back quickly on pressing lightly with fingertips. No soft          spots present on carcass surface.  2. Good (40)      a. Slight defects/damage; there are a few minor rips, tears, cuts, and abrasions.      b. Some scales loss.      c. Body colors are little dull.      d. Flesh at notch springs back slowly on pressing lightly with fingertips. One or two very          small soft spots present on carcass surface.  3. Medium (30)      a. Noticeable defects/damage; a maximum of two rips, tears, cuts, abrasions which could affect the          meat yield.      b. Small patches of scales lost.      c. Body colors dull/dark.      d. Flesh at notch less firm, does not spring back fully on pressing lightly with fingertips.          Several small spots present on carcass surface. NOTE: Condition has two aspects: carcass and flesh condition. Carcass condition is assessed in terms of damage of the exterior damage to the skin; for example rips, cuts and tears. Flesh condition is done by assessing the meat at the tail cut to see if there is gaping, parasites and disease, and also along the exterior surface of the carcass damage which can be felt with the fingers. Bruising is one example.   5 Source:  6 Wiryanti J., Glynn G. and Limpus L., 1997. Improved Quality Control for Handling and Processing of Fresh and 7 Frozen Tuna At Sea and On Shore. ASEAN-CANADA Fisheries Post-Harvest Technology Project – Phase II, 8 p.134-137 9 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 9 of 10   Annex B 1  2 Table 3 – Acceptable levels of heavy metals in fish 3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12 Sources:  13 1 CODEX STAN 193-1995 (Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed) 14 2 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1881/2006 (Maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs) 15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  48  49  50  51  52  53  54  55  56  57  58 Heavy metal Maximum level Lead 0.3 ppm (0.3 mg/kg)1 Cadmium 0.1 ppm (0.1 mg/kg)2 Mercury 1 ppm (1 mg/kg)1 PHILIPPINE NATIONAL STANDARD                                              PNS/BAFS 137: 2014 Fresh-chilled and fresh-frozen tuna for sashimi Final Draft 03-18-2014   
Page 10 of 10  References 1  2 The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated 3 references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced 4 document (including any amendments) applies. 5  6 CAC/RCP 52-2003, Rev. 6-2011, Amend.1-2011.Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products. 7 Codex Alimentarius Commission. Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health 8 Organization. Rome, Italy.(www.codexalimentarius.org) 9  10 CODEX STAN 234-1999, Rev.2-2007, Amend.2-2011. Codex Recommended Methods of Analysis 11 and Sampling. Codex Alimentarius Commission. Food and Agriculture Organization/World 12 Health Organization. Rome, Italy.(www.codexalimentarius.org) 13  14 CODEX STAN 193-1995, Amend.2-2010. Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in 15 Food and Feed. Codex Alimentarius Commission.Food and Agriculture Organization/World 16 Health Organization. Rome, Italy. (www.codexalimentarius.org) 17  18 CODEX STAN 36-1981, Rev.1-1995. Standard for Quick Frozen Finfish, Uneviscerated and 19 Eviscerated. Codex Alimentarius Commission. Food and Agriculture Organization/World 20 Health Organization. Rome, Italy. (www.codexalimentarius.org) 21  22 DA-BFAR Fisheries Administrative Order No. 210, Series of 2001. Rules and Regulations on the 23 Exportation of Fresh, Chilled and Frozen Fish and Fishery Products. Bureau of Fisheries and 24 Aquatic Resources. Department of Agriculture. Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. 25 (www.bfar.da.gov.ph) 26  27 DA-BFAR Fisheries Administrative Order No. 117, Series of 1975. Rules and Regulations Governing 28 the Operation of Processing Plants for Fish and Fishery/Aquatic Products and 29 Prescribing/Requiring Standards, Quality Control and Inspection for Processed Fish and 30 Fishery/Aquatic Products. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. Department of 31 Agriculture. Quezon City, Philippines. 32  33 DOH-FDA Circular No. 2013-010, dated February 27, 2013. Revised Guidelines for the Assessment of 34 Microbiological Quality of Processed Foods, Table 11. Fish and Fish Products: Fresh Frozen 35 Fish. Food and Drug Administration. Department of Health. Alabang, Muntinlupa City, 36 Philippines. (www.fda.gov.ph) 37  38 DOH Administrative Order No. 2007-0012. Philippine National Standard for Drinking Water 2007. 39 Department of Health. Philippines.  40  41 EC No. 1881/2006, Commission Regulation. Official Journal of European Union. December 20, 2006. 42  43 Miyake, M.; Guillotreau, P.; Sun, C-H; Ishimura, G. Recent developments in the tuna industry: stocks, 44 fisheries, management, processing, trade and markets.FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture 45 Technical Paper. No.543. Rome, FAO. 2010. 125p. 46  47 Blanc, Michel et al. Onboard Handling of Sashimi-Grade Tuna : A Practical Guide for Crew Members 48 / Michel Blanc ; Aymeric Desurmont ; Steve Beverly – Revised Edition – Noumea, New 49 Caledonia: Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2005. 50  51 Title 21 – Food and Drugs, Code of Federal Regulation. Food and Drug Administration. Department of 52 Health and Human Services. USA. 2012 53  54 http://www.fao.org/fi/glossary/default.asp. (Accessed on February 13, 2014) 55