Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine
Chapter 1: Food Service Sanitation
Section IV: Inspection of Food Items
1-26. Inspection of Fish and Shellfish (Seafood).
Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
1. The USDC is responsible for all in-plant quality assurance
inspections for Federal agency food acquisitions of seafood in the
United States. All such products prepared in the United States and
purchased for use in general messes and private messing facilities
ashore and afloat must originate from plants under the supervision of
the USDC and be marked with the USDC stamp to be acceptable.
Processed seafood for clubs, messes, exchanges and commissaries must
also originate from sources under USDC inspection; however,
displaying the Federal inspection marks on the product label for
commercial trade is voluntary rather than mandatory as with meat and
poultry (mandatory inspection is expected to occur in the near
future). Therefore confirmation of "approved sources" should be made
by assigned veterinary personnel when the Federal inspection marks
are not on the commercial product label.
2. Each container of unshucked shell stock (shellfish, oysters,
clams, mussels) procured for Navy and Marine Corps use must be
identified by an attached tag that states the name of the original
shell stock shipper, the kind and quantity of shell stock, and an
official certificate number issued according to the law of the
jurisdiction where it originated. Fresh and frozen shucked shellfish
must be packed in nonreturnable packages identified with the name and
address of the original shell stock shipper, shucker, packer, or
repacker, and the official certification number issued according to
the law of the jurisdiction of its origin. Shell stock and shucker
shellfish must be kept in the container in which they were received
until they are used.
3. Fish must be checked carefully. Refrozen fish must not be used;
that is, fish that have been frozen, thawed, and then frozen again.
Fish that has been refrozen will have soft, flabby flesh, and a sour
odor, and will be off-color; the wrapping paper may become moist,
slimy, and discolored. The bottom of the box may be distorted.
4. Fresh fish have bright red gills, prominent clear eyes, and
firm elastic flesh. Stale fish are dull in appearance, have cloudy
and red bordered eyes and soft flesh; finger impressions are made
easily and remain when digital pressure is released. Fish caught over
the side at sea must not be consumed unless there is absolute
certainty that they are not poisonous since cooking does not destroy
the poisonous alkaloid in fish which can cause violent illness or
death.
5. Fresh crustaceans (lobster and crab) must be alive to be
accepted. Quality fresh whole lobster cannot be obtained after any
period of storage. It should be purchased as a live product and it
will remain satisfactory as long as it is alive and the flesh is not
shrunken. When inspecting crab, lobster, or shrimp, the edible
portion should be examined by organoleptic procedures to determine
fitness for human consumption.
Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited.
The listing of any non-Federal product in this CD is not an
endorsement of the product itself, but simply an acknowledgement of the source.
Operational Medicine 2001
Health Care in Military Settings
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Department of the Navy
2300 E Street NW
Washington, D.C
20372-5300 |
Operational Medicine
Health Care in Military Settings
CAPT Michael John Hughey, MC, USNR
NAVMED P-5139
January 1, 2001 |
United States Special Operations Command
7701 Tampa Point Blvd.
MacDill AFB, Florida
33621-5323 |
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