How to define low risk and high care areas in a cold smoking fish process?
Hi everyone,
I opened this thread out of curiosity. In case you are producing cold smoked fish (salmon, trout, white fish or other types), and are BRC certified, i'm curious which process steps you have defined as low risk, and from what process step you have your process defined as high care and the argumentation for that decision?
Hi rdeboer,
reading with interest. I would be interested to learn as well due to the Listeria risk. I've seen a few cheese smoking operations in my time and generally the risk status was not well considered but with some attempt to define the post smoking area as high care. As cold smoked fish is ready to eat, certainly this area should be high care to my mind (it's not going to have undergone a 70oC / 2 min treatment though so not high risk.) What would be interesting for me is what steps reduce the bacterial loading so at what point does high care start? I'm guessing it may be a combination of gutting, brining and smoking all having some reduction in micro. If you explain the process, perhaps we can work it through if an expert doesn't come along?
Hi,
Short: we defined our post cold smoking process as high care. We receive gutted fish that we decapitate, de-bone and skin in our facility. We use dry salting not brine or brine injection.
Hi,
Short: we defined our post cold smoking process as high care. We receive gutted fish that we decapitate, de-bone and skin in our facility. We use dry salting not brine or brine injection.
Interesting... The salting though presumably has a significant impact on pathogen survival and growth. Why not post salting?
Hi everyone,
I opened this thread out of curiosity. In case you are producing cold smoked fish (salmon, trout, white fish or other types), and are BRC certified, i'm curious which process steps you have defined as low risk, and from what process step you have your process defined as high care and the argumentation for that decision?
Some info in below attachments.
BRC Production zone - cold smoked salmon.pdf 2.05MB 29 downloads
(see Pgs 4-6/29)
BRC - cold smoked fish.pdf 44.15KB 18 downloads
BRC6 Appendix - cold smoked salmon.pdf 30.48KB 15 downloads
Analysis Process cold smoked fish - Codex COP Fish.pdf 2.81MB 19 downloads
(see Pgs 140-150)
European Guide for smoked,salted,marinated fish.pdf 2.12MB 19 downloads
Processing-Parameters-for-Control-Pathogens-in-Cold-Smoked-Fish.pdf 941.03KB 22 downloads
FAO,Case Study-L.monocytogenes in Smoked Fish.pdf 394.58KB 13 downloads
L.mono levels in Cold smoked Salmon and Gravlax,2000.pdf 156.5KB 11 downloads
Review smoked fish processes with respect to L.monocytogenes,2012.pdf 2.7MB 15 downloads
Raw,RTE Fish.pdf 146.61KB 15 downloads
Regarding L.monocytogenes, the 6th file above indicates a possible 2log reduction in smoking stage. The detailed review in penultimate file (2012) supports this opinion although historical data tends to be scattered probably in part due to the large variety of process conditions in use.
Above concurs with the conclusion in Post 3 although other possible process stages such as salting, drying are also mentioned in the review as potential co-factors for microbial reduction. Such additions could expand the zonal "high care" area.
PS - Also see this post which offers a similar zonal evaluation as Post 3 -