ANNEX VIPRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR OFFICIAL CONTROLS ON FISHERY PRODUCTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 70

CHAPTER IICONTROLS ON TOTAL VOLATILE BASIC NITROGEN (TVB-N)

A.TVB-N limit values for certain categories of fishery products and analysis methods to be used

1.Unprocessed fishery products shall be regarded as unfit for human consumption where organoleptic assessment has raised doubts as to their freshness and chemical checks reveal that the following TVB-N limits are exceeded:

  1. (a)

    25 mg of nitrogen/100 g of flesh for the species referred to in point 1 of Part B of this Chapter;

  2. (b)

    30 mg of nitrogen/100 g of flesh for the species referred to in point 2 of Part B of this Chapter;

  3. (c)

    35 mg of nitrogen/100 g of flesh for the species referred to in point 3 of Part B of this Chapter;

  4. (d)

    60 mg of nitrogen/100 g of whole fishery product used directly for the preparation of fish oil for human consumption, as referred to in the second paragraph of point 1 of Chapter IV.B of Section VIII of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004; however, where the raw material complies with points (a), (b) and (c) of the first paragraph of that point, F2the appropriate authority may set limits at a higher level for certain species pending the establishment of specific F3national legislation.

The reference method to be used for checking the TVB-N limits involves distilling an extract deproteinised by perchloric acid as set out in Part C below.

2.

Distillation as referred to in point 1 shall be performed using apparatus which complies with the diagram in Part D below.

3.The routine methods that may be used to check the TVB-N limit are as follows:

  1. (a)

    microdiffusion method described by Conway and Byrne (1933);

  2. (b)

    direct distillation method described by Antonacopoulos (1968);

  3. (c)

    distillation of an extract deproteinised by trichloracetic acid (Codex Alimentarius Committee on Fish and Fishery Products, 1968).

4.

The sample shall consist of about 100 g of flesh, taken from at least three different points and mixed together by grinding.

F1The food safety authority shall recommend that official laboratories use, as a matter of routine, the methods referred to above. Where the results are dubious or in the event of dispute regarding the results of analysis performed by one of the routine methods, only the reference method may be used to check the results.