Food Safety (Fishery Products and Live Shellfish) (Hygiene) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Chapter V Requirements concerning Live Shellfish

Live shellfish intended for immediate human consumption must comply with the following requirements—

1.  the possession of visual characteristics associated with freshness and viability, including shells free of dirt, an adequate response to percussion, and normal amounts of intravalvular liquid;

2.  they must contain less than 300 faecal coliforms or less than 230 E. coli per 100 grams of mollusc flesh and intravalvular liquid based on a five-tube, three-dilution MPN-test or any other bacteriological procedure shown to be of equivalent accuracy;

3.  they must not contain salmonella in 25 grams of mollusc flesh;

4.  they must not contain toxic or objectionable compounds occurring naturally or added to the environment such as those listed in the Annex to Directive 79/923/EEC in such quantities that the calculated dietary intake exceeds the permissible daily intake (PDI) or that the taste of the molluscs may be impaired;

5.  the upper limits as regards the radionuclide contents must not be excessive;

6.  the total Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) content in the edible parts of molluscs that is the whole body or any part edible separately must not exceed 80 micrograms per 100 grams of mollusc flesh in accordance with the biological testing method — in association if necessary with a chemical method for detection of Saxitoxin. If the results of such tests are challenged, the reference method shall be the biological method;

7.  the customary biological testing methods must not give a positive result to the presence of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poison (DSP) in the edible parts of molluscs that is the whole body or any part edible separately;

8.  in the absence of routine virus testing procedures and the establishment of virological standards, health checks must be based on faecal bacteria counts.

Any examination for checking compliance with the requirements of this Chapter must be carried out in accordance with methods which may from time to time be approved for the purpose of these Regulations by the Department.