I am seeking information on Vibrio for risk assessment purposes. My clients recently had Vibrio spp identified in an export consignment of chilled scallops (Pecten maximus) going from the UK to Italy. We can not get information about the cfu's and the Italian vets will not identify the species.
Our HACCP identifies Vibrio as being a low level risk as the product is to be cooked before eating, large numbers are needed for infection, the organisms themselves are not common in UK waters (normally needs 15C). I have references from FAO and other sources.
What I would like to hear of are the experiences of others with this organism in a low risk food. Our problem is that the Italians, naturally, want confidence that Vibrio is not a significant hazard whilst my clients cannot test very batch prior to export.
Vibrio has not previously been considered a significant risk in UK raw fish. Furthermore EU Reg 2073/2005 has no limits for Vibrio, but comments that:
'Currently available scientific data do not support setting specific criteria for pathogenic V. vulnificus and parahaemolyticus in seafood'
and recommend that:
'There is a need for development of reliable methods for other microbial hazards too, e.g. Vibrio parahaemolyticus.'
Are there any other standards that are applied to Vibrio in other parts of the world?
Many thanks
Richard Chivers
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Dec 06 2007 - 11:46:18 PST