HACCP in Iranian Caviar

There are twenty four existing sturgeon species world wide. Five of them live in the Caspian Sea and supply caviar: Huso huso, Acipenser guelden staedtii, Acipenser persicus, Acipenser nudiventris, and Acipenser stellatus. Caviar production has many processing steps. In the first the landed fish are numbered and washed several times, then gutted to remove roes and resultant roes are washed and strained through screens in order to remove any connective tissues. The next step of processing caviar is salting. The type of salt used depends on the customer’s preference and the customs regulations of the purchasing country. Then caviar is filled in containers and the lid is placed on it with utmost caution to compact the mass and remove the contain air inside the container. At the end, a simple rubber band is pulled over the lid at the point contacting with the container. It should be noted that the liquid that seeps out of the container during storage is an indication of caviar’s freshness. Iranian caviar has used HACCP for many years. In this article caviar HACCP will be described.


Introduction
The most valuable product prepared from Caspian Sturgeons is topquality caviar.Fish eggs are developed in ovaries, which consist of a pair of symmetrical flat cylinders attached to the abdominal cavity along the vertebral column of female fish.The main part of the ovary is the connective tissues which hold the eggs and fat deposits.The ovaries are covered with a thin transparent film.Immature roes adhere tightly to the ovary tissues, but when ripe, they are easily separated from the connective tissues.This property is used in the caviar production cycle by rubbing the ovaries through special sieves.The ovary size depends on the fish size and species, as well as the stage of the eggs ripeness.The weight of well developed ovaries in sturgeon females is about 20 % of the whole fish weight.In some cases the ripe ovaries can reach 30% of the fish weight.Granular caviar is usually prepared from ovaries which have achieved stage IV of maturation and have been removed from live sturgeons.
Separated eggs are graded for quality according to their color and size.Before salting the roes are washed with cleaned cool (8-10 o c) water to remove blood clots, crumpled eggs and slimy remains.The washed roes are sent to the vibrating sieve to remove residual water.The roe is processed with food grade salt, or a mixture of salt with preservatives, and packed in tins.
The essential technological requirements are a strict sanitary water regime thorough cleaning of technological equipment, fish and roe, using special disinfectants and devices, and constant medical checking of personnel.
Sturgeon caviar possesses high nutritional and biological value.Table 1 summarizes the protein, fat and energy value of granular caviars.

What is HACCP?
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a food safety management system, for preventing public health hazards and the other risks related occuring during food chain production.It is a highly specialized and effective system of food quality safety control and has an approach which easily integrates into Total Quality Management or ISO 9000.
Developing HACCP assists companies to comply with legislation, supports due diligence and fulfils customer requirements for a food safety management system.The introduction of common food hygiene rules across the European Community through EEC Directive 93/43/ was achieved within the UK in 1995 by the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) regulations, which legally require the HACCP approach.Industry guides to good hygienic practice are voluntary guides providing more detailed advice on complying with the regulations as they relate to specific sectors.Food safety should be given the highest priority; however companies are often short of time and appropriate personnel who require this training.especially in food safety, which needs to be widely disseminated throughout their company.Food safety management systems are much more likely to be effective if they are owned by all in production and management.

HACCP Application in Iranian Caviar
The following sequence of 12 steps is applicable for development of a caviar HACCP program.(Iranian Fisheries Co, 2000, Caviar production annual reports).
-Identify intended use.
- -Establish record keeping and documentation.

1-Assemble HACCP team:
The HACCP team is included by personnel who are directly involved in the daily processing activities and have the knowledge and expertise to develop a caviar HACCP plan, including: Microbiologist, food technologist, veterinarian, chemist, HACCP expert, and fisheries expert 2-Describe product: Product name: Caviar Raw material: Sturgeon fish roes Food additives: Salt and preservatives Packaging: 2 and 1 kg tin packs Shelf life: Maximum one year Storage: Keep cool at 0 o --3 o Ċ How it is to be used: ready to eat 3-Identify intended use: Caviar may be used by all people without any restriction, but because it is very expensive the amount of caviar consumption is very limited.

4-Construct process flow diagram:
The important process steps in caviar production are:

7-Determination of CCP:
In the caviar processing line, four points or steps are identified as CCP (Critical Control Points) namely: Fish receiving, roes washing, weighing of roes and additives, and time/ temperature controlling.

8-Establish critical limits:
For each CCP in the caviar HACCP plant one critical limit is determined that is used to distingue between safe and unsafe operating conditions at a CCP.9-Establish monitoring procedures: In the caviar HACCP plant, monitoring is a planned sequence of observation or measurements to asses whether a CCP is under control and to produce an accurate record for future use in verification, like time/temperature controlling.

10-Establish corrective action:
An important purpose of corrective actions in the caviar HACCP plant is to prevent caviar spoilage contamination.This may be hazardous if it reaches consumers.Where there is a deviation from established critical limits, corrective action are necessary.

11-Establish verification procedures:
In caviar HACCP plant verification is defined as those activities, other than monitoring, that determine the validity of the HACCP plan and that the system is operating according to the plan, like reviewing of CCP monitoring and corrective action records and final test reports.
12-Establish record keeping and documentation generally the records maintained for the caviar HACCP plan, including the following: -A summary of Hazard Analysis, including the rationale for determining hazards and control measures. - Construct process flow diagram and schematic.-On-site verification of flow diagram and plant schematic.-List hazard associated with each step and analyze.-Determination of critical control point (CCP).-Establish critical limits.-Establish monitoring procedures.-Establish corrective actions.-Establish verification procedures.
-site verification of flow diagram: Once the flow diagram has been drafted, it is verified by an on site inspection for accuracy and completeness.6-List hazards associated with each step and analyzing: 6-1-Hazard associated with raw material (fish ovary): Parasites, environmental and chemical contaminants.6-2-Ppotential hazard associated with process: Pathogen growth and toxin production caused by time, temperature, abuse, contamination with chemical agents.

Table 2 . Total caviar export quotas by species in 1998-2000(kg).
The HACCP plan: Listing of HACCP team, description of caviar, verified flow diagram, HACCP plan summary table that includes information of HACCP principles.