The schematic shows the key components of the Product Hazard Structure. There are three independent factors to consider: production; species and product.
The production hazards are related to the use of drugs in farmed fish production.
The species hazards are related to contaminants / heavy metal, histamine, marine toxins and sanitary waters. In addition the concentration levels of the species related hazards are different in the meat versus the other tissue types.
The product hazards are related to the processing and preservation method. There are three product categories; canned, RTE and Non RTE, which are further subdivided in accordance with the preservation/ processing methods. For canned products, the preservation/processing method is sterilized; for RTE products, there are 4 different preservation methods; cooked, pasteurized in the container, safety parameters and no safety parameters or heat. For Non RTE products, there are 4 different preservations/processing methods; live, raw, blended/mixed ingredients and breaded. The product hazards for all three produce categories are related to food pathogens, additives, allergens, container integrity, package integrity and package permeability.