Michigan Administrative Code
Department - Agriculture and Rural Development
Food and Dairy Division
RegulationNo 569 - Smoked Fish
Section R. 285.569.1 - Definitions

(a) "Cold process smoked fish" means a smoked fish that has not been subjected to sufficient heat to coagulate the protein throughout the fish.

(b) "Critical control point" means a point, step, or procedure in a food process at which control can be applied and, as a result, a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels.

(c) "Critical limit" means the maximum or minimum value to which a physical, biological, or chemical parameter must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level the occurrence of the identified food safety hazard.

(d) "Fish" means all freshwater or saltwater finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and other aquatic organisms, other than birds or mammals, that are intended for human consumption.

(e) "Fish product" means any article of food or any other article intended for, or capable of being used as, human food that is derived or prepared, in whole or in part, from any portion of any fish.

(f) "Hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan" means a food processing plan under which a food processing plant operator effectively prevents food safety hazards by monitoring food safety variables at critical control points and by controlling the variables within critical limits.

(g) "Hot process smoked fish" means a smoked fish that has been subjected to sufficient heat for a sufficient period of time to coagulate the protein throughout the fish.

(h) "Liquid smoke" means an aqueous solution of wood smoke that, when suitably diluted, may be used to impart a smoke flavor.

(i) "Loin muscle" means the longitudinal quarter of the great lateral muscle of the fish that is free from skin, scales, visible blood clots, bones, gills, and nonstriated parts.

(j) "Process authority" means a person who has expert knowledge of the commercial processing of fish and fishery products based on a combination of education, training, and experience.

(k) "Reduced oxygen packaging" means packaging that reduces the amount of oxygen in a package by mechanical evacuation of the oxygen, displacing the oxygen with another gas or combination of gases, or otherwise controlling the oxygen content in a package to a level below the level of 21% normally found in the surrounding atmosphere. "Reduced oxygen packaging" includes altered atmosphere, modified atmosphere, controlled atmosphere, low oxygen and vacuum packaging.

(l) "Smoked fish" means a freshwater or saltwater finfish that is prepared by treating it with salt (sodium chloride) and subjecting it to the direct action of the smoke from burning wood, wood sawdust, or similar burning material or from liquid smoke flavoring applied to the surface in a gaseous, liquid, or vaporized state with or without heat. The term includes products composed in whole or in part from smoked fish, such as sausage, pate, or snack dip.

(m) "Temperature-indicating device" means an accurate, standard thermometer or equivalent device, such as a resistance temperature device or thermocouple.

(n) "Temperature-recording device" means a device that is capable of providing a continuous record of the temperature conditions being monitored.

(o) "Water phase salt" means the percentage of salt (sodium chloride) in the water phase of the finished fish product. It is calculated by multiplying the percentage of salt (sodium chloride) by 100 and dividing that number by the sm of the percentage of salt (sodium chloride) and the percentage of moisture in the finished product. Moisture and salt content shall be determined in accordance with the method described in the publication entitled "Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC, International" 16th edition. The publication is adopted in these rules by reference and may be obtained from AOAC, International, 2200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400-GG, Arlington, Virginia 22207-3301, at a cost as of the time of adoption of these rules of $359.00 (print version), or from the Department of Agriculture, Food Division, Ottawa Building, Fourth Floor, P.O. Box 30017, Lansing, MI 4 48909, at cost.