Quality

Hygiene and sanitary quality are a decisive factor for food safety. This factor is an important element of the fishing production chain, especially when considering the high degradation potential of fresh fish.

In this sense, adopting the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and self-control system helps ensure the consistent quality and safety of products, thus reducing the incidence of Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases. The GMP system establishes general principles that include the proper handling of food products and the use of adequate food preservation methods for raw materials and end products (Costa et al., 2012).

Another basic principle of GMP is the training of food handlers, in view of the fact that these professionals are one of the main sources of foodborne contamination. With the objective of providing high-quality fish products, capacity building programs must be properly planned and held on an on-going basis. The purpose of such programs is to include the procedures established by GMP for the fish processing routine. These programs must include contents such as personal and operational hygiene, and the hygienic handling of foods (Sousa et al., 2021).

In addition to the capacity building programs, monitoring and inspection of production facilities, equipment and products is of vital importance, in view of the fact that such activities, aligned with GMP, must provide the appropriate environment for the harmlessness and compliance of products. In addition, physical, chemical, microbiological and inorganic parameters established by the regulatory authorities must be taken into consideration.