TO: All Holders of the Fish Products Standards and Methods Manual
SUBJECT: COMMENSAL/PARASITIC CRABS - NEW ZEALAND MUSSELS
The purpose of this bulletin is to inform manual holders of the tolerance for instances of commensal/parasitic crabs which have occasionally been found in shipments of frozen New Zealand mussels. These small crabs, which are known as pea crabs, reside naturally inside New Zealand mussels. They do not pose a health threat but they could be considered aesthetically offensive to the consumer.
The following tolerance will be applied to all future shipments of New Zealand Mussels:
A unit of New Zealand mussels will be considered defective for the presence of foreign material if any crabs are found during the course of an inspection.
The lot will be considered unacceptable if the total number of sample units found defective for the presence of crabs exceeds the acceptance number for the sample size designated in the sampling plans.
When the Fresh/Frozen Molluscan Shellfish Product Standard is finalised the above tolerance will be integrated in the standard.
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