S.L. 449.25 Art. 19Conditions concerning parasites.

(1) During production and before they are released for human consumption, fish and fish products must be subject to a visual inspection as in the Third Schedule for the purpose of detecting and removing any parasites that are visible. The scale and frequency of the inspections, which must be carried out by a qualified person, shall be determined according to the nature of the fishery products, their geographical origin, and their use.

(2) During preparation of eviscerated fish the visual inspection must be carried out on the abdominal cavity and livers and roes intended for human consumption in the following manner:

(a) in the case of manual evisceration, the visual inspection must be earned out in a continuous manner by the operative at the time of evisceration, and

(b) in the case of mechanical evisceration, the visual inspection must be carried out by sampling at least ten fish per batch.

(3) The visual inspection of fish fillets or fish slices must be carried out during trimming after filleting or slicing. Where an individual examination is not possible, because of the size of the fillets or filleting operations, a sampling plan will be drawn up by the Government veterinarian. Where candling of fillets is possible from a technical viewpoint, it will be included in the sampling plan.

(4) Fish or parts of fish which are obviously infested with parasites, and which are removed, must not be placed on the market for human consumption.

(5) The fish and fish products referred to in subregulation (6) which are to be consumed as they are must, in addition, be subjected to freezing at a temperature of not more than -20ºC in all parts of the product for not less than twenty-four hours. Products subjected to this freezing process must be either raw or finished.

(6) The fish and products subject to the conditions in subregulation (5) are:

(a) fish to be consumed raw or almost raw, such as raw herring, maatje;

(b) the following species, if they are to undergo a cold smoking process at which the internal temperature of the fish is less than 60ºC: - herring, - mackerel, - sprat, - (wild) Atlantic and Pacific salmon;

(c) marinated and, or salted herring where this process is insufficient to kill the larvae of nematodes. This list may be amended, in the light of scientific data, and criteria will be laid down to define the processes which are deemed sufficient or insufficient to destroy nematodes.

(7) Manufacturers must ensure that fish and fish products listed in subregulation (3) or the raw materials for use in their manufacture are subjected to the treatment described in subregulation (2) prior to their release for consumption.

(8) The fishery products listed in subregulation (3) must, when they are placed on the market, be accompanied by a document from the manufacturer stating the type of process they have undergone.