Potential Food Safety Risks: Total Store and by Department - Retail Food Safety - page 29

ice should be made from potable water and handled in a manner that does not con-
taminate other products or food contact surfaces including cutting surfaces, utensils,
packaging, etc.
The raw product received at the store level may be sold whole or portioned or
have ingredients added at the store level. For raw product, the critical control point
is in the consumer's home at the time of cooking.
If ready-to-eat products, or cooked products that require only reheating prior to
consumption, are sold from the fi sh and seafood department, there is the potential
for cross-contamination of these products. The production, packaging, and display
of these products should be done in a manner that minimizes the risk of potential
contamination or cross-contamination, e.g., segregation, separation, separate
utensils.
If frozen fi sh or seafood products are to be thawed at retail, controls should be in
place to ensure that the internal product temperature does not go above 4 °C. This
may be accomplished by defrosting such products in a refrigerated unit. Procedures
should also be in place to ensure that drip from defrosting product does not contami-
nate other products.
Live product should be segregated from other products in the department. The
instructions provided by product and equipment suppliers should be adhered to.
Fish and seafood products may be sold from a service case, or, packaged and sold
from a self-serve case. In some, but not all, jurisdictions frozen seafood may be sold
bulk self-serve.
Potential biological risks that may be associated with fi sh and seafood include,
but are not limited to, bacteria (e.g., Clostridium botulinum , Vibrio spp., Salmonella
spp., Shigella spp., C. jejuni ), parasites (e.g., nematodes, roundworms, tapeworms),
and viruses (e.g., hepatitis A, norovirus).
Potential chemical risks that may be associated with fi sh and seafood include, but
are not limited to, undeclared allergens (e.g., stuffi ng, breading, marinades, spice
mixes), non-food chemicals, and improperly used chemicals and toxins (e.g., para-
lytic shellfi sh poison and diarrhetic shellfi sh poisoning). Potential physical risks
that may be associated with fi sh and seafood include but are not limited to: hooks,
netting, metal fragments, and wood.
Food safety controls within the fi sh and seafood department include, but are not
limited to, attaining an appropriate temperature if cooked in store, maintaining the
product at an appropriate temperature, rotating the product, protecting the product
from damage, contamination and cross-contamination (e.g., raw to ready-to-eat,
species to species, allergen transfer), labelling with the appropriate nomenclature,
storage instructions, durable life, and other required labelling information.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency — Retail Food — Information Bulletin —
Seafood provides an overview of fi sh and seafood requirements at retail. Additional
resource materials include: Canadian Food Inspection Agency — Quality
Management Program ( QMP ); Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Fact Sheet — Food
Safety Tips for Buying and Storing Fish and Seafood ; Fisheries and Oceans Canada —
Seafood Safety Controls . Similar resources are available from other jurisdictions,