Prawns
Prawns are produced through both wildcatch and aquaculture production methods. Prawns are bottom-feeding, opportunistic omnivores, and will consume a wide variety of foods depending on availability. They are subject to a range of hazards through their environment, both chemical and microbiological.
Further hazards can also be introduced during subsequent processing, handling, transport and storage stages (Table 1.5).
Wildcatch: A range of prawn species are commercially harvested as wildcatch in Australia, from both estuarine and marine environments. Catch is obtained from a wide range of locations, covering much of the Australian coastline. The primary method of catch is demersal otter trawling. Free-living prawns may encounter a range of hazards in their environment, both chemical and microbiological.
Significant chemical hazards originating from the environment include the metals arsenic and mercury. Both of these are recognised as human toxins, and their presence in crustacea is regulated under the Code. Cadmium has also been identified as a food safety hazard associated particularly with endeavour prawns (Metapenaeus spp.) harvested in certain geographical regions [6], but it was concluded that no maximum level standard was necessary in the Code.
Other chemical residues may be present in wild-catch crustacea due to industrial pollution and agricultural run-off. This will be a greater risk in estuarine prawns than those caught in open marine waters.
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