ingredients are exposed or in areas used for washing equipment or utensils.

(7) Take any other necessary precautions to prevent contamination of foods with microorganisms or foreign substances including, but not limited to perspiration, hair, cosmetics, tobacco, chemicals, and medicants.

(c) Education and training. Personnel responsible for identifying sanitation failures or food contamination should have a background of education or experience, or a combination thereof, to provide a level of competency necessary for production of clean wholesome food. Food handlers and supervisors should receive appropriate training in proper food-handling techniques and food-protection principles and should be cognizant of the danger of poor personal hygiene and unsanitary practices, and other vectors of contamination.

[36 FR 21041, Nov. 3, 1971]

§ 261.103 Grades-quality factors.

(a) U.S. Grade A. Whole or dressed fish shall:

(1) Possess good flavor and odor and; (2) Comply with the limits for defects for U.S. Grade A quality in accordance with § 261.104.

(b) U.S. Grade B. Whole or dressed fish shall:

(1) Possess reasonably good flavor and odor and;

(2) Comply with the limits for defects for U.S. Grade B quality in accordance with § 261.104.

(c) Substandard. Whole or dressed fish does not possess reasonably good flavor and odor and/or exceeds the limits for defects for U.S. Grade B quality in accordance with § 261.104.

grade as described in paragraph (g) of this section.

(b) Sampling. The sampling rate of specific lots for all inspections, other than for military procurement, shall be in accordance with the sampling plans contained in Part 260 of this chapter except that the sampling unit is ten (10) fish for fish weighing up to 10 pounds. Fish weighing over ten (10) up to fifty (50) pounds-the sample unit shall be five (5) fish. For fish weighing over fifty (50) pounds, the sample unit shall be a minimum of three (3).

(c) Evaluation of flavor and odor. (1) Evaluation of the odor on each of the raw fish in the sample unit shall be carried out as follows:

(i) For the examination of small units, break the flesh or thawed sample either with the thumbs or by cutting with a knife in several places. Hold the cut or broken flesh close to the nose for evaluation.

(ii) For the examination of large units, a core may be used. Drill a hole into the hard frozen fish with a highspeed quarter inch drill. As soon as the drill is withdrawn, the hole and drillings are smelled.

(2) If the results of the raw odor evaluation indicate the existence of any off-odors, the sample shall be cooked by any of the methods set forth below to verify the flavor and odor.

(i) Boil in bag method. Insert the sample into a boilable film-type pouch; fold the open end of the pouch over a suspension bar and clamp in place to provide a loose seal after evacuating the air by immersing the pouch into boiling water. Cook the contents for 20 minutes (until the internal temperature of the product reaches 160 degrees F.).

(ii) Steam method. Wrap the sample in a single layer of aluminum foil, and place on a wire rack suspended over boiling water in a covered container. Steam the packaged product for 20 minutes.

(iii) Bake method. Package the product as previously described. Place the packaged product on a flat cookie sheet or shallow flat-bottom pan of sufficient size so that the packages can be evenly spread on the sheet or pan.

Place the pan and frozen contents in a properly ventilated oven preheated to 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

(3) The amount of material to be cooked shall be based on the results of the raw odor evaluation. A minimum of 25 percent of the sample except that not less than 3 sample units shall be used.

(d) Examination for physical defects. Each of the fish in the sample will be examined for defects using the list of defect definitions, and the defects noted and categorized as minor, major, and serious in accordance with Table 1.

(e) Definitions of defects in whole or dressed fish. (1) “Abnormal condition" means that the normal physical and/ or chemical structure of the fish flesh has been sufficiently changed so that the usability and/or desirability of the fish is adversely affected. It includes, but is not limited to, the following examples:

(i) Jellied-refers to the abnormal condition wherein a fish is partly or wholly characterized by a gelatinous, glossy, translucent appearance.

(ii) Milky-refers to the abnormal condition wherein a fish is partly or wholly characterized by a milky-white, excessively mushy, pasty, or fluidized appearance.

(iii) Chalky-refers to an abnormal condition wherein a fish is partly or wholly characterized by a dry, chalky, granular appearance, and fiberous structure.

(A) Moderate-refers to a condition that is distinctly noticeable but does not seriously affect the appearance, desirability and/or the eating quality of the product.

(B) Excessive-refers to a condition which is both distinctly noticeable and seriously objectionable.

(2) "Appearance defects" shall refer to the overall general appearance of the fish (consistency of the flesh, odor, eyes, gills, and skin) and presence of excessive blood or drip and appearance of the package.

(i) Slight-refers to an appearance defect that is slightly noticeable but does not seriously affect the appearance, desirability, and/or eating quality of the fish.

(ii) Moderate-refers to an appearance, defect that is conspicuously noticeable but does not seriously affect the appearance, desirability, and/or eating quality of the fish.

(iii) Excessive-refers to an appearance defect that is conspicuously noticeable and that does seriously affect the appearance, desirability, and/or eating quality of the fish.

(3) "Discoloration" refers to any color not characteristic of the species used.

(i) Slight-refers to the area affected by discoloration of significant intensity involving up to 10 percent of the total area.

(ii) Moderate-refers to the area affected by discoloration of significant intensity involving over 10 percent and up to 50 percent of the total area.

(iii) Excessive-refers to the area affected by discoloration of significant intensity involving over 50 percent of the total area.

(4) "Dehydration" refers to loss of moisture from fish surfaces during frozen storage. For skin-on fish, dehydration shall be evaluated by degree of dullness and shrinkage.

(i) Slight dehydration—is surface color masking affecting more than 3 percent of the area which can be readily removed by scraping with a blunt instrument.

(ii) Moderate dehydration-is deep color masking penetrating the flesh, affecting less than 3 percent of the area, and requiring a knife or other sharp instrument to remove.

(iii) Excessive dehydration-is deep color masking penetrating the flesh, affecting more than 3 percent of the area, and requiring a knife or other sharp instrument to remove.

(5) "Surface defects" shall refer to the following where applicable:

(i) Scales. An occurrence of attached or loose scales in any sample unit (where applicable).

(ii) Blood spot. An accumulation of coagulated opaque, masses of blood on a fish.

(iii) Fins or pieces of fin. An occurrence or absence of attached or loose fins or pieces of fin in any sample unit (where applicable). Dorsal spine shall be removed (where applicable).

(iv) Skin. The presence of the dark or light inner layers of skin for skinless. For semiskinned, reference is to the presence of the dark outside layers.

(v) Bruises. An accumulation of damaged portions of fish muscle, red and opaque in appearance (on a fish).

(vi) Damage to protective coating refers to voids in ice glaze or tears in covering membrane, also to breaks or splits in the skin which are readily discernible and not normally part of the processing.

(6) "Cutting and trimming defects" refers to the following:

(i) Body cavity cuts-refers to misplaced cuts made during evisceration.

(ii) Improper heading (as specified)-refers to the presence of pieces of gills, gill cover, pectoral fins (spine), or collarbone after the fish have been headed. No ragged cuts should be evident after heading.

(iii) Evisceration defects-refers to inadequate cleaning of the belly cavity of the fish. All viscera, kidney (where applicable), spawn, and blood should be removed.

(A) Slight degree of improper evisceration and improper heading refers to a condition that is scarcely noticeable but does not affect the appearance, desirability, and/or eating quality of the fish.

(B) Moderate degree of improper evisceration and improper heading refers to a condition that is conspicuously noticeable but does not seriously affect the appearance, desirability, and/or eating quality of the fish.

(C) Excessive degree of improper evisceration refers to a condition that is conspicuously noticeable and that seriously affect the appearance, desirability, and/or eating quality of the fish.

(iv) Improper washing-inadequate removal of slime, blood, and bits of viscera from the surface of the fish and from the body cavity.

(v) Belly burn-an enzymatic action on the flesh causing a burned or discolored appearance.

(7) "Texture defects" texture of the cooked fish; not characteristic of the species.

(i) Slight-fairly firm, only slightly tough or rubbery, does not form a fi

(3) Upon determination of the grade for each sample unit a lot of whole or dressed fish shall be assigned that grade in which:

(i) For physical defects, the number of sample units in the next lower grade does not exceed the acceptance number for deviants prescribed in § 260.61 of the sampling plan, Table II, of Title 50; and

(ii) Not more than 5 percent of the fish in the sample (total fish examined per lot) are in the next lower grade for odor and/or flavor.

NOTE: Sampling for inspection for military procurement shall be in accordance with MIL-STD-105. Lot size shall be expressed in terms of pounds. The sample size shall be in accordance with Inspection Level S-3. Acceptable Quality Levels shall be expressed in terms of defects per hundred units. The AQL'S shall be 6.5 for minor and 4.0 for major.

§ 261.105 Hygiene.

Whole or dressed fish shall be processed and maintained in accordance with the applicable requirements of the regulations contained in §§ 260.96 to 260.103 of this chapter and of the good manufacturing practice regulations contained in 21 CFR Part 128.

Subpart B-United States Standards for Grades of Frozen Headless Dressed Whiting

§ 261.151 Description of the product.

The product described in this part consists of clean, wholesome whiting (silver hake) merluccius bilineraris, merluccius albidus; completely and cleanly headed and adequately eviscerated. The fish are packaged and frozen in accordance with good commercial practice and are maintained at temperatures necessary for the preservation of the product.

§ 261.152 Grades of frozen headless dressed whiting.

(a) "U.S. Grade A" is the quality of frozen headless dressed whiting that (1) possess a good flavor and odor and that (2) for those factors that are rated in accordance with scoring

system outlined in this part, have a total score of 85 to 100 points.

(b) "U.S. Grade B" is the quality of frozen headless dressed whiting that (1) possess at least reasonably good flavor and odor and that (2) rate a total score of not less than 70 points for those factors of quality that are rated in accordance with the scoring system outlined in this part.

(c) "Substandard" or "Utility" is the quality of frozen headless dressed whiting that meet the requirements of § 261.151 but that otherwise fail to meet the requirements of "U.S. Grade B."

§ 261.161 Determination of the grade.

In a plant under USDC Contract Inspection the grade is determined by examining the product for factors 1-10 in the thawed state and factor 11 in the cooked state. For lot inspection, examination of the product for factors 1, 2 and 3 is carried out in the frozen state and 4-10 in the thawed state. Factor 11 is examined in the cooked state.

(a) Factors rated by score points. Points are deducted for variations in the quality of each factor in accordance with the schedule in Table 1. The total of points deducted is subtracted from 100 to obtain the score. The maximum score is 100 the minimum score is 0.

(b) Factors not rated by score points. The factor of "flavor and odor" is evaluated organoleptically by smelling and tasting after the product has been cooked in accordance with § 261.171.

(1) Good flavor and odor (essential requirements for a U.S. Grade A product) means that the cooked product has the typical flavor and odor of the species and is free from rancidity, bitterness staleness, and off-flavors and off-odors of any kind.

(2) Reasonably good flavor and odor (minimum requirements of a U.S. Grade B product) means that the cooked product is lacking in good flavor and odor but is free from objectionable off-flavors and off-odors of any kind.