Microanalytical Quality of Canned Crabmeat, Sardines, and Tuna

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JOHN S. GECAN,'* RUTH BANDLER,' and JOHN C. ATKINSON Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-pdf/51/12/979/1650355/0362-028x-51_12_979.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021

Division of Microbiology and Division of Mathematics, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, DC 20204

(Received for publieation June 13, 1988)

ABSTRACT product residues provides breeding areas for insects and attracts rodents and birds. The use of contaminated ice or A 1-year national retail market survey was made to deter uncleaned holding facilities may also contribute to the mine the sanitary quality of canned crabmeat, sardines and tuna. product contaminant load. Good sanitation practices on The official methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists were used to count light filth such as whole or equiva the unloading docks and during transport to the processing lent flies, insect fragments, rodent hair fragments, whole feath facility are essential for preventing product contamination. ers or feather fragments and feather barbules. Over 4000 samples Product residues that attract insects and other animals or of 200 g (crabmeat) or 225 g (sardines and tuna) were analyzed; provide harborage and breeding areas must be eliminated. filth levels were generally low. Maximum counts for each defect Upon arrival of the product at the processing facility, good were 8 whole or equivalent flies for canned sardines, 18 insect manufacturing practices must be rigidly enforced to pre fragments for canned crabmeat, 3 rodent hair fragments for canned vent contamination. Insect and rodent breeding areas must crabmeat and tuna, 2 whole feathers or feather fragments for be eliminated from the plant surroundings and measures canned crabmeat and 5 feather barbules for canned crabmeat. must be taken to prevent insects, birds, rodents and other Percent of samples containing each defect ranged as follows: vermin from gaining entrance into the plant. A compre whole or equivalent flies, 0.2% for canned sardines and tuna to hensive pest control program along with a good manufac 1.8% for canned crabmeat; insect fragments, 0.5% for canned turing practices program supported by management and sardines to 11.1% for canned crabmeat; rodent hair fragments, 0.3% for canned sardines to 4.7% for canned crabmeat; whole employees is essential to the production of clean, whole feathers or feather fragments, 0.0% for canned tuna to 0.2% for some seafood products (2). canned crabmeat; and feather barbules, 0.4% for canned crabmeat to 1.4% for canned tuna. MATERIALS AND METHODS

A 1-year national retail market survey was made to deter Canned tuna, sardines and crabmeat are susceptible to mine the sanitary quality of canned crabmeat, sardines and tuna. contamination by insects, rodents and birds from the time Samples were collected by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) they are removed from the water until they are hermeti inspectors from 64 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, which cally canned. Federal sanitation standards specify that all were defined by the Bureau of Census as integrated economic fish and other marine products shall be from approved and social units with a recognized urban population nucleus of sources and shall be clean, wholesome, free from spoilage substantial size (4). The selection of 64 areas was subject to the restriction that continental United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico and adulteration and safe for human consumption. The be proportionally represented with statistical adequacy. In each standards further state that all seafood products, while being metropolitan area, products in three chain stores and two inde processed, stored, packaged or transported shall be pro pendent stores were selected for sampling. Five retail units of tected from contamination, spoilage and other conditions each canned seafood were collected at each store and whenever whereby they may become unsafe or otherwise unfit for possible different brands of product were selected; however, if human consumption (J). Sanitation in the seafood indus brand duplication was necessary, different production codes were try begins on the boat, with measures to prevent contami collected. The collection plan was designed to ensure that the nation by insects, rodents and birds. The presence of random sampling would adequately represent producers. The samples consisted of domestic and imported thermally proc essed and hermetically sealed crabmeat, oil-packed sardines and 'Division of Microbiology. oil- or water-packed tuna. 2Division of Mathematics, deceased.

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION, VOL. 51, DECEMBER 1988 980 GECAN ET AL.

Analyses were conducted by an independent commercial TABLE 2. Frequency distribution of whole or equivalent flies, laboratory under contract to the FDA, according to the Official insect fragments, rodent hairs, whole feathers or feather frag Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical ments, and feather barbules in 225-g samples of canned sar Chemists (J): canned crabmeat, section 44.080; sardines and dines. tuna, section 44.082. The quality of these data meets the high Count No. of Cumulative Cumulative standards established by the FDA through a program of audit lots frequency percent analyses routinely performed for all analytical contracts. Sample Whole or equivalent flies sizes for analysis were 200 g of canned crabmeat and 225 g of 0 1518 1518 99.8 canned sardines and tuna. Data were obtained on 1209 samples 1 1 1519 99.9 of canned crabmeat, 1521 samples of canned sardines and 1589 7 1 1520 99.9 samples of canned tuna. 8 1 1521 100.0 Insect fragments 99.5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 0 1513 1513 1 5 1518 99.8 2 2 1520 99.9

The significant defects found in the canned seafood Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-pdf/51/12/979/1650355/0362-028x-51_12_979.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 4 1 1521 100.0 were whole or equivalent flies, insect fragments, rodent Rodent hairs hair fragments, whole feathers or feather fragments and 0 1516 1516 99.7 feather barbules. Frequency distributions for these defects 1 4 1520 99.9 in each product are given in Tables 1-3. 2 1 1521 100.0 Counts of whole or equivalent flies ranged from 0-1 Whole feathers or feather fragments for 225 gram samples of canned tuna to 0-8 for 225 g of 0 1520 1520 99.9 canned sardines. Samples containing whole or equivalent 1 1 1521 100.0 flies ranged from 0.2% for canned sardines and tuna to Feather barbules 1.8% for canned crabmeat. 0 1510 1510 99.3 99.8 Counts of insect fragments ranged from 0-3 for 225 1 8 1518 3 2 1520 99.9 gram samples of canned tuna to 0-18 for 200 g of canned 4 1 1521 100.0 TABLE 1. Frequency distribution of whole or equivalent flies, insect fragments, rodent hairs, whole feather or feather frag ments, and feather barbules in 200-g samples of canned crabmeat. TABLE 3. Frequency distribution of whole or equivalent flies, Count No. of Cumulative Cumulative insect fragments, rodent hairs, whole feathers or feather frag lots frequency percent ments^ and feather barbules in 225-g samples of canned tuna. Whole or equivalent flies Count No. of Cumulative Cumulative T87 '" 1187 9SJT lots frequency percent 20 1207 99.8 Whole or equivalent flies 1 1208 99.9 " 15867" 1586 99.8 1 1209 100.0 3 1589 100.0 Insect fragments Insect fragments 1075 1075 88.9 1578 1578 99.3 89 1164 96.3 8 1586 99.8 17 1181 97.7 2 1588 99.9 14 1195 98.8 1589 100.0 3 1198 99.1 Rodent hairs 5 1203 99.5 1519 1519 95.6 3 1206 99.8 63 1582 99.6 1 1207 99.8 6 1588 99.9 I 1208 99.9 1 1589 100.0 1209 100.0 Whole feathers or feather fragments Rodent hairs 1589 1589 100.0 152 1152 95.3 Feather barbules 48 1200 99.3 1567 1567 98.6 8 1208 99.9 20 1587 99.9 __1 1209 100.0 2 1589 100.0 Whole feathers or feather fragments 1207 1207 99^8 1 1208 99.9 crabmeat. Count means varied from 0.01 for 225 g of 1209 100.0 canned sardines and tuna to 0.21 for 200 g of canned Feather barbules crabmeat. Samples containing insect fragments ranged from 1204 1204 99.6 0.5% for canned sardines to 11.1% for canned crabmeat. 3 1207 99.8 Counts of rodent hair fragments ranged from 0-2 for 1 1208 99.9 225 g of canned sardines to 0-3 for 200 g of canned crabmeat 1 1209 100.0 and 225 g of canned tuna. Samples containing rodent hair

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION, VOL. 51, DECEMBER 1988 SANITARY QUALITY OF CANNED SEAFOOD 981 fragments ranged from 0.3% for canned sardines to 4.7% ACKNOWLEDGMENTS for canned crabmeat. Counts of whole feathers or feather fragments ranged The authors thank the FDA investigators and inspectors who col from 0 for 225 g of canned tuna to 0-2 for 200 g of canned lected the samples; the scientists of the Microanalytical Branch, Division of Microbiology, who assisted in the study; and Ruth B. Rupp for techni crabmeat. Samples containing whole feathers or feather cal assistance. fragments ranged from 0.0% for canned tuna to 0.2% for canned crabmeat. REFERENCES Counts of feather barbules ranged from 0-2 for 225 g of canned tuna to 0-5 for 200 g of canned crabmeat. Samples 1. Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1984. Official methods of containing feather barbules ranged from 0.4% for canned analysis, 14th ed. AOAC, Arlington, VA. crabmeat to 1.4% for canned tuna. 2. Chichester, C. O., and H. D. Graham (ed.). 1973. Microbial safety of fishery products, Academic Press, New York, NY. Results of this survey indicated that little difference 3. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and U.S. Depart exists between the levels of insect, rodent and bird filth in ment of the Interior. 1967. Sanitation standards for smoked-fish proc essing. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. the three products and that relatively small numbers of Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-pdf/51/12/979/1650355/0362-028x-51_12_979.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 samples of each product contained evidence of insect, rodent 4. U.S. Office of Management and Budget. 1975. Standard metropolitan statistical areas, revised ed. U.S. Government Printing Office, Wash or bird contamination. The presence of these contaminants, ington, DC. even at the low levels detected, indicates that sanitary controls failed at some point between harvest and canning.

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