4. With reference to the request of the Commission concerning the elaboration of standards for tropical fish and freshwater fish, the Committee expressed its willingness to consider any specific proposal which would be made in this respect, and recalled that standards were of a general nature and applied to all fish species covered by their scope. The Committee noted that specific remarks concerning the application of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products in tropical conditions would be considered under Agenda Item 6.
Committee on Food Hygiene
5. The Committee noted that the matter of the residual levels of chlorine in shrimps and prawns had been referred back by the Committee on Food Hygiene, which had recommended that a paper be prepared on this question. The Committee was informed that the use of chlorinated water was common practice in a number of countries, while it was prohibited by EC legislation, and recognized that this matter required further discussion as significant differences in approach existed among member countries. The Committee welcomed the offer of FAO and WHO to prepare a discussion paper on the use of chlorinated water and agreed that a Circular Letter would ask member countries to provide information on their experience in this area, in order to facilitate the preparation of the document.
Committee on Food Labelling
6. In addition to the matters presented in the document, the Committee was informed that the last Session of the Committee in Food Labelling (May 1998) had advanced to Step 8 the Draft Amendment to the Labelling Provisions of the Standard for Fish Fingers (Fish Sticks) Fish Portions and Fish Fillets - Breaded or in Batter, whereby the declaration of the proportion of fish core was requested. Some delegations expressed their concern about this decision and it was noted that they had an opportunity to submit their comments to the Commission at Step 8. The Committee noted that the EC legislation did not any longer refer to fish core but to fish contents, as water and additives should be excluded from the declaration (see also para. 102).
Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling
Determination of Salt Content in Salted Fish of the Gadidae Family
7. With reference to the proposal of the Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling to consider the general method for the determination of salt content, the Delegations of Germany and Norway confirmed that they had developed a specific method for products with a high salt content as the general method was not appropriate in such cases, and the Committee agreed to retain the current method. As it was recalled that the relevant data should be submitted to the CCMAS to allow for the endorsement of the method, the Delegation of Germany indicated that performance characteristic data would be forwarded in due time.
Thawing Procedures - Standard for Quick Frozen Blocks of Fish Fillets, Minced Fish Flesh and Mixtures of Fillets and Minced Fish Flesh
8. Following its discussions at the last session, the Committee considered several documents including comments and proposals relating to methods of analysis, which were introduced by Dr. Jane Fox-Dobson of the United States.
9. The Committee agreed to correct the section on Thawing Procedures - Water Immersion Method in the standard to indicate that the frozen fish blocks were "sealed in plastic bags" and to correct the temperature to 21ºC ± 1.5ºC (70ºF ± 3ºF), as these had been initially included in the text.
Proportion of Fish Flesh in Fish Sticks
10. The Committee was informed by the Delegation of the United States that, as a result of a collaborative study carried out with collaborators from the USA and Canada, a modification had been adopted to AOAC Official Method 971.13 for the determination of fish flesh content in frozen coated fish products, currently referred to in the standard. The modified method was adopted as AOAC Official Method 996.15[3]. The Committee therefore agreed that the new reference should be included in the standard.
11. The Delegation of the United States indicated that it also appeared from the study that the mean determined percent fish flesh (DPFF) for the modified AOAC method was less than the mean actual percent fish flesh (APFF) for the on-line method for 29 out of 36 products tested, which corresponded to 4 different percentages of fish flesh, 3 raw materials, 4 forms of processing and 4 styles of products, with a total of 6336 test samples. On the basis of the report, the Delegation proposed to add the following fish flesh adjustments to the determined percent fish flesh (DPFF) according to the product styles: raw breaded 2%; precooked 4%; batter-dipped 2%. This would account for the influence of analytical methods and processing factors: preservatives (phosphates); tempering of fish blocks; viscosity and temperatures of batters; time and temperatures associated with cooking, freezing, and storage.
12. The Delegation of France expressed the view that it may be premature to include this amendment to the method as no study had been carried out so far in other countries on the need for adjustment factors. The Committee however noted that this proposal would be forwarded to the CCMAS for endorsement and that member countries would have the opportunity to provide their comments to CCMAS.
13. The Committee agreed to include in the standard a reference to AOAC Method 996.15 with an adjustment factor of 2% for raw breaded and batter-dipped products; 4% for precooked products, subject to endorsement by the CCMAS.
Weight Determination for Quick Frozen Shrimps and Prawns
14. The Committee recalled that its last session had discussed this question and encouraged member countries to perform comparative studies on the methods for net weight determination for all products covered by the standards. The Delegation of the United States presented the results of a pre-collaborative study comparing the precision and accuracy of the official AOAC Method with other selected methods for determining the net weight of IQF-glazed shrimp and block-glazed shrimp.
15. Test samples were subjected to water with or without sodium tripolyphosphate (STP). During deglazing (IQF-glazed shrimp only) and/or thawing, test samples were allocated to assess the effects of STP presence, sieve mesh sizes and sieve diameters. The effects of using sieve weights (dry and wet) in combination with paper towels usage and tared pan weight when calculating the determined net weights were also assessed. The Modified AOACpb Method 967.13 and the Air Thaw Method seemed to be the best methods (for accuracy and precision) to determine the net weight of IQF- and block-glazed shrimps and, as a result of this study, these methods and the official AOAC Methods 963.18 and AOAC Method 967.13 would be tested in a collaborative study.
16. The Committee expressed its appreciation to Dr. Fox-Dobson and the Delegation of the United States for this comprehensive work and discussed a proposal to include Modified AOACpb Method 967.13 on an interim basis for the determination of net weight (in the thawed state) in the standard for Quick-Frozen Shrimps and Prawns. It was pointed out that there was currently no method for this determination and that it would be useful to include it even on an interim basis.
17. Some delegations however pointed out that they needed more time to consider the information provided by the United States and it was agreed that the detailed study would be circulated for the information and comments of member countries, to allow further consideration of this matter at the next session.
Proportion of Fish Fillet and Minced Fish
18. The Delegation of South Africa presented the data which had been collected in that country on the application of the WEFTA method to certain species of hakes from the Southern Hemisphere, and highlighted the differences in the results with firm flesh species. As the amounts of minced flesh recovered for soft textured hakes, and the excess mince was generally higher when storage time was longer. The Delegation consequently proposed that a 5% allowance be made for soft fleshed species such as hake.
19. The Committee noted that the CCMAS was scheduled to consider the endorsement of this method in the light of data to be submitted by the United Kingdom, and agreed that the results and proposals provided by South Africa would also be forwarded to the CCMAS for review at its next session (December 1998).
