Fish and Fishery Products

Image of various fish

Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products
(Host Government Norway)

The Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (CCFFP) is responsible for elaborating standards for fresh and frozen fish, crustaceans, and molluscs.

Existing Codex Standards

Codex standards on Fish and Fishery Products already adopted into the international food code include:

Canned Crab Meat
Canned Fish
Canned Finfish
Canned Tuna and Bonito
Canned Salmon
Canned Shrimps or Prawns
Crabs
Dried Shark Fins
Fish Portions and Fish Fillets-Breaded or in Batter
Flesh and Mixtures of Fish Fillets and Minced Fish Flesh
Fresh Fish
Frozen Fish
Lobsters and Quick Frozen Lobsters
Method of Checking Product Temperature of Quick Frozen Foods
Minced Fish prepared by Mechanical Separation
Molluscan Shellfish
Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods
Quick Frozen Blocks of Fish Fillets, Minced Fish
Quick Frozen Fish Fillets and Quick Frozen Raw Squid
Quick Frozen Finfish, Eviscerated or Uneviscerated
Quick Frozen Fish Sticks (Fish Fingers)
Quick Frozen Shrimp or Prawns
Salted Fish
Salted Fish and Dried Salted Fish of the Gadidae Family of Fishes
Sardines and Sardine-Type Products
Sensory Evaluation of Fish and Shellfish in Laboratories
Shrimps or Prawns and Quick Frozen Shrimps or Prawns
Smoked Fish

* This is an indicative list only. For a full list of standards approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, please consult its Official List of Standards

Outcomes of the 34^th Codex Alimentarius Commission

The 34^th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted at Steps 8 and 5/8:

the Standard for Fish Sauce
the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (section on smoked fish and relevant definitions)
the amendment to Section 3.4.5.1 Water of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products
the amendment to the Standard for Quick Frozen Fish Sticks
the amendment to the Preamble of Section 6, Aquaculture Products of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products

The 34^th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted at Step 5:

the Draft Standard for Quick Frozen Scallop Adductor Muscle Meat
the Draft Standard for Fresh/Live and Frozen Abalone

The 34^th Commission also revoked CAC/RCP 25–1979 – Recommended International Code of Hygienic Practice for Smoked Fish and approved new work on Criteria/Parameters for screening methods for biotoxins in the Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs and a Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (section on sturgeon cavier)

Last Meeting

The 31st Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products was held in Trømso, Norway from 11 – 16 April 2011.

At this meeting the Committee advanced to Step 8 and 5/8:

Draft Standard for Fish Sauce (para. 36, Appendix III)
the Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (section on smoked fish and relevant definitions) (para. 70, Appendix V)
the Proposed Draft Amendment to Section 3.4.5.1 Water of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (para. 75, Appendix VI)
the Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard for Quick Frozen Fish Sticks (para. 155, Appendix XI)

The Committee advanced to Step 5 the following:

Proposed Draft Standard for Quick Frozen Scallop Adductor Muscle Meat (para. 97, Appendix VII)
Proposed Draft Standard for Fresh/Live and Frozen Abalone (Haliotis spp) (para. 146, Appendix X)

New Work

The Committee agreed to propose new work on:

Draft Criteria/Parameters for screening methods for biotoxins in the Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs
Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (section on Sturgeon Caviar)

Other Matters of Interest to the Commission

The Committee agreed to:

request the Commission to amend the Preamble of Section 6, Aquaculture Products of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products as on-going work on the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products
express its concern to the Commission concerning the provisions forwarded for adoption by the CCFA on food colours carotene beta- (vegetable), 160a (ii) with Note 16: “for use in glaze, coatings or decorations for fruit, vegetables, meat or fish” in Food Category 9.1.1 “Fresh Fish”, as this may lead to cases where glazings with colours are used to falsify fresh fish and to misled the consumer about the freshness of the fish and fishery products
return the Proposed Draft Code of Practice on the Processing of Scallop Meat (para. 100, Appendix VIII) and the Proposed Draft Performance Criteria for Reference and Confirmatory Methods for Marine Biotoxins in the Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs (para. 117, Appendix IX) to Step 3 for comments and consideration at its next session
return to Step 2/3 for redrafting, comments and further discussion at the next session, the Proposed Draft Revision of the Procedure for the Inclusion of Additional Species in Standards for Fish and Fishery Products (para. 109); and the Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard for Quick Frozen Fish Sticks (Nitrogen Factor for Atlantic Hake)
to hold at Step 7, the Proposed Draft Standard for Smoked Fish, Smoke-Flavoured Fish and Smoke-Dried Fish pending the development of the section on food additives, comments and consideration at the next session (para. 64) and to further consider food additive provisions in standards for fish and fishery products at its next session, based on proposals by an electronic working group
to consider how to proceed with the proposed draft appendices on optional final product requirements in the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (para. 72); a discussion paper on the public health risk of histamine from fish and fishery products (paras 39-40); and a proposal for a code of practice for fish sauce (para. 42) at the next session.

Matters of interest to Other Committees and Task Forces

Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCHFH)

The Committee agreed to:

request the advice of CCFH on whether to retain the criteria for Salmonella in the Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs taking into account the final report of the FAO/WHO Expert Group on Salmonella in Bivalve Molluscs
inform the CCFH of its decisions on the proposals from CCFH on the hygiene provisions in the Standard for Smoked Fish, Smoke-Flavoured Fish and Smoke-Dried Fish.

Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS)

The Committee agreed to request CCFICS to consider the proposed amendments to the Generic Model Certificate.

Matters of interest to FAO/WHO

The Committee noted that scientific advice from FAO/WHO might be needed in the work on the review of public health risk of histamine from fish and fishery products.

Report from this meeting

Next Meeting

The 32nd Session of the Committee has been scheduled to be held in Bali, Indonesia from 1 – 5 October 2012.

The agenda for this meeting