USDA Fish Handling for Fish-Eating Animals PDF

USDA fish handling to fish-eating animals The USDA provides guidelines on how to handle fish intended for feeding fish-eating animals, particularly in contexts such as zoos, aquariums, wildlife rehabilitation, and other facilities. These guidelines emphasize food safety and proper nutrition to prot...

USDA fish handling to fish-eating animals The USDA provides guidelines on how to handle fish intended for feeding fish-eating animals, particularly in contexts such as zoos, aquariums, wildlife rehabilitation, and other facilities. These guidelines emphasize food safety and proper nutrition to protect the health of the animals being fed. Quick notes **1. Source and Quality of Fish** - **Approved Sources**: Obtain fish from reputable suppliers to ensure quality and safety. - **Inspection**: Check fish for signs of spoilage, such as unusual odors, discoloration, or slimy texture. - **Species Selection**: Use species that align with the nutritional needs of the animals. --- **2. Handling and Storage** - **Temperature Control**: - Keep fish frozen at or below 0°F (-18°C) to prevent spoilage and bacterial growth. - Thaw fish in a refrigerator at 32°F (0°C) or under cold running water. - **Storage Practices**: - Store fish in clean, food-safe containers to prevent contamination. - Avoid refreezing previously thawed fish. - **Avoid Cross-Contamination**: - Use separate utensils, cutting boards, and surfaces for handling fish. **3. Nutritional Considerations** - **Supplementation**: - Frozen fish may lose some nutrients, particularly thiamine and Vitamin E. Supplements may be required for animals on a diet of frozen fish. - Consult a veterinarian or nutritionist to ensure dietary adequacy. - **Variation in Diet**: - Offer a variety of fish species to prevent nutritional deficiencies and dietary monotony. **4. Hygiene and Safety** - **Sanitation**: - Wash hands, tools, and surfaces thoroughly before and after handling fish. - Sanitize preparation areas with approved cleaning agents. - **Parasite Risks**:  - Freezing fish kills many parasites, but some may require cooking or additional treatment. Verify protocols based on the species being fed. - **Disease Prevention**: - Regularly monitor fish supplies for diseases that could affect animal health. **5. Regulatory Compliance** - **Recordkeeping**: - Maintain records of fish purchases, handling procedures, and feeding schedules. - Track the condition of animals and adjust diets as needed. - **Legal Requirements**: - Adhere to USDA and local regulations for handling and feeding fish to captive wildlife. **6. Emergency Protocols** - Develop protocols for handling spoiled fish, equipment failures (e.g., freezer breakdowns), and health concerns in the animals. Detail notes: - two basic approaches to offering fish as food: offering one species of fish on a seasonal basis or offering several species of fish throughout the year. There should be some type of rotation of diet for example quarterly. - Advantages: seasonal approach fresh fish is fed -Disadvantages:Quality is poor, low supply, unpalatable for animals, harvested only at specific times of year. - Geraci (1978) emphasizes the need to feed more than one food type, including high- and low-fat fishes, in order to help ensure a balanced diet. This ensures that the animal will have a balanced diet and won’t be “imprinted” on one food just in case that food runs out of stock and or is no longer available. - To determine the freshness of fish the history of the catch should include knowledge of pre capture conditions. Epidemiological data such as local and periodic occurrences of pesticide and heavy metal pollution also are useful (Stoskopf 1986). - Packages should be 10-20 kg to allow for proper thawing - “ First in, First out” for storing fish - Refrigeration is used for thawing fish only and storm- term storage. Fish that are moved to refrigeration must be used within 24 hours.  - Monitored during transportation and record all temperatures during the process. Any fish that is starting to thaw or has thawed during this process must be used immediately and not to be refrozen. - USDA regulations state "thawing of frozen food shall be conducted in a manner that will minimize contamination and which will assure food retains nutritive value and wholesome quality. - IDPH outlines three methods by which fish may be thawed. - 1. “In refrigerated units the temperature of the fish themselves does not exceed 7c. Can be documented by placing a thermometer with the fish. - 2. Under portable running water at temp of 21c or below. This is not a preferred method because it increases nutrient loss, especially of water-soluble nutrients. - 3. In a microwave oven set to defrost. THis method is used only for food that will be used immediately but once again not preferred. - Should never be thawed at room temperature. - The main thing is that everything should be documented!! - USDA requires an employee or attendant responsible for management to perform or directly oversee the feeding. - Record of feeding of individual should we record for one year Cleaning guidelines - Contact with a solution of 100 parts per million (ppm) available chlorine for 20 seconds or 50 ppm for at least a minute. - Contact with a solution of 25 ppm available iodine for 1 minute - Contact with a solution of 200 ppm quaternary ammonium for 1minute. - Contact with water of at least 7 to 82 °C (170 or 180 °F). - Use of a dishwashing machine with approved sanitizing methods (chemical or hot water). - Washing all surfaces with a detergent solution followed by a safe and effective disinfectant. - Validation must occur (1) before procedures become policy and practice (2) at periodic intervals to ensure compliance (3) when the procedure is changed. - One method of process validation is to take samples of fish at key points (receipt, storage, thawing, preparation, and before feeding) - maximum/minimum thermometer should be placed in a sealed plastic bag before being placed in the container of fish. ( another for of validation ) - Sample fish should include protein, fat, and energy content in order to provide a nutritious diet. - Fish should also be checked for toxins or heavy metal. - The freezing point of a substance is "that temperature at which the liquid is in equilibrium with the solid" (Desrosier 1978). Many foods, including fish, have a high water content and freeze between temperatures of 0 and 3 °C - (32 and 37 °F); fish freeze, on average, at about 2°C (36 °F) (Desrosier 1978). - There are several methods of freezing, including cold air blasts, direct immersion in cooling medium, contact with refrigerated plates ni a freezing chamber, and freezing in liquid air, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide - There are a variety of causes for spoilage of foods, including one or more of the following: - growth and activity of microorganisms (or occasionally higher forms) present; often a succession of organisms are involved - insects or parasites - action of the enzymes naturally found in fish - purely chemical reactions, that is, those not catalyzed by enzymes of the tissues or microorganisms - physical changes, such as those caused by freezing, burning, drying, and pressure. - Types of bacteria can be in or transferred by human carriers Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium botulinum, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Yersinia enterocolitica. Competition occurs among bacteria, yeasts, - fungi, and molds-one organism outgrowing another due to the environmental conditions. -