Dar seafood ppp standard

Other bivalves

Mussels are grown by longline open water aquaculture in Australia. They obtain all their nutrients from the growing environment, filter feeding on plankton and other organic matter, and do not need additional dietary supplementation. All of Australia’s mussel production is consumed locally, along with a similar amount of imported mussels (mostly from New Zealand). After reaching marketable size (65–85 mm) the mussels are removed from the long lines and the shells cleaned of external fouling, usually in a washer–tumbler machine in which the mussels are rotated and rub against each other to dislodge small mussels, barnacles and other fouling organisms. The mussels are then cleaned, graded and bagged for sale, live, without further processing. Aside from the potential for shell damage, and consequent contamination of the flesh, the major source of food safety risk is in the quality of the growing waters.

The choice of site determines the potential for contamination by sewage and industrial and agricultural run-off, while the risk from hazardous algal blooms is similar in scope (and unpredictability) to that encountered for scallops. Mussels are usually shipped and sold live. Dead mussels tend to gape, providing a convenient indicator of quality. Good quality mussels have closed shells, minimising the risk of contamination by food handlers.
Small quantities of pipis (also known as Goolwa cockles) are commercially harvested in Australia, mainly in New South Wales and South Australia, with smaller commercial catches in Queensland and Victoria. They are harvested along the waterline, and are usually sold live in the shells, with no processing.

The main hazards likely to be present are endogenous marine pathogens and algal biotoxins, with the potential for temperature abuse after harvest and during transport.

Abalone

Abalone are gastropod molluscs that feed on drift algae and seagrass leaves. They are found primarily on rocky reefs in waters up to 40 metres deep around the southern coasts of Australia. Although there is increasing interest and investment in aquaculture of abalone, the vast majority (>99%) of Australia’s abalone production is wild-caught, usually by diving. The abalone are usually landed live and processed onshore except in South Australia, where a large proportion of the catch is shucked at sea. After shucking, the meat (adductor muscle) is cleaned and graded, before being bulk frozen, parboiled then frozen, or cooked in brine then canned. A small amount is frozen whole on the shell.

As only the adductor muscle is eaten, the potential for accumulation of microbiological hazards and chemical contaminants from the growing environment is similar to that encountered with saucer scallops, as many of these hazards are preferentially concentrated in the viscera, which is discarded. During post-harvest handling, shucking and transport, contamination with microbiological (for example, S. aureus) and chemical hazards and temperature abuse are possible. The microbiological hazards will be controlled to some extent by chilling/freezing and canning processes.
In aquaculture of abalone, the potential for contamination by agricultural run-off is greater than for wild-caught abalone, and antibiotic and anaesthetic residues are also a potential hazard, while the hazards potentially introduced during handling are similar to those for wild-caught abalone.