Principles of Food Sanitation

10. Avoid contamination during mainte-
    nance and equipment setup by requir-
    ing maintenance workers to carry a
    sanitizer and to use it where they have
    worked.

The following sanitation checks should be
conducted:

1. Compliance with good manufacturing
   practices (GMPs) should be confirmed.


2. Effectiveness of equipment cleaning
   and sanitizing should be inspected.


3. Hand washing and sanitizing facilities
   and the appropriate solution strength
   should be checked.


4. The correct usage and storage of pesti-
   cides should be verified.


5. The proper processing and storage tem-
   perature should be verified to ensure
   reduced microbial growth.

High Hydrostatic Pressure Treatment

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) process-
ing is a viable treatment technique for use in
reducing pathogenic microorganisms associ-
ated with food and in extending shelf life.
HHP has been applied to a variety of foods,
including seafoods, fruit juices, sauces, and
meats. Dong et al. (2003) found that HHP
was effective in killing microorganisms in

raw fish fillets, but its significant effect on the

color and overall appearance of the product

limits its application to the processing of fish

for raw fish markets.

Flick (2003) indicated that HHP offers

seafood processors advantages such as

reduced process time; retention of freshness,

flavor, texture, appearance, and color; and

reduced functionality alterations compared

to traditional thermal processing. HHP of

250 to 300 MPa for 120 seconds curtails

many of the disease risks (such as from Vib-

rio parahaemolyticus,V. cholera, and V. vul-

nificus) associated with the consumption of

raw oysters (Cook, 2003).

Ozone Generation

Although sanitizing principles as discussed

in Chapters 10 and 17 apply here, ozone has

utility in aquaculture to disinfect water and

assist in filtration and for cooling tower water.

Production units are available that concen-

trate oxygen from the air using pressure swing

absorption (PSA), use air directly, or feed

pure oxygen from another source (Clark,

2004). The most common is PSA, because the

feed gas must be dried away (to prevent for-

mation of undesirable by-products from

ozone formation) and the drying process is

similar to the concentration process.

Seafood Plant Sanitation 333

Table 18–1Recommended Sanitizing Concentrations for Various Applications

Quaternary Ammonium
Application Available Chlorine (ppm) Available lodine (ppm) Compounds (ppm)

Wash water 2–10 Not recommended Not recommended
Hand dip Not recommended 8–12 150
Clean, smooth surfaces 50–100 10–35 Not recommended
(rest rooms and
glassware)
Equipment and utensils 300 12–20 200
Rough surfaces (worn
tables, concrete floors, 1,000–5,000 125–200 500–800
and walls)