GB/T 35375-2024Frozen whitebait (English PDF)

1 Scope

The document sets the requirements for frozen whitebait covering the raw material, the processing water, the size grading, the sensory requirements, the physical and chemical indicators and the net content; it describes the corresponding test methods, gives the inspection rules and sets the requirements for marking, packaging, transport and storage.

It applies to products made by freezing fresh whitebait of the genera Protosalanx Regan, Neosalanx Wakiya et Takahasi and Hemisalanx Regan.

3 Terms and definitions

The terms and definitions of GB/T 36193 apply, together with the following.

3.1 whitebait with yellow stripe: whitebait whose digestive tract is yellow.

4 Requirements

4.1 The raw material is to be fresh, of good quality and free of contamination.

4.2 The processing water is to meet GB 5749.

4.3 Size is graded on the total body length and on the number of whitebait per kilogram, as set out in Annex A.

4.4.1 The frozen product is to form clean, firm blocks with a flat, unbroken surface; the glaze is to cover the whole of every fish evenly, and there is to be no freezer burn.

4.4.2 The thawed product is to meet Table 1, which gives the sensory requirements in two columns, superior grade and qualified grade. In form, the superior grade is fresh, the fish whole, the body surface translucent, with no burst or swollen belly and no dirty mucus; the qualified grade has the fish largely whole, with the belly slightly swollen and no dirty mucus. In texture, the superior grade has firm muscle of good elasticity, the qualified grade slightly soft muscle of somewhat poorer elasticity. In colour, the superior grade has the colour proper to whitebait, glossy, with no discolouration and no yellow stripe; the qualified grade has the colour proper to whitebait, or part of the body surface milky white, and a small number of yellow-stripe fish are allowed. In odour, both grades have the odour characteristic of whitebait and no off-odour. As to foreign matter and other aquatic matter, the superior grade is to have none visible to normal sight; the qualified grade is to have no foreign matter visible to normal sight, and a small quantity of small trash fish and shrimp is allowed, their weight to be below 5 % of the total weight.

4.5 Table 2 sets the physical and chemical indicators in one column: the product core temperature is to be no higher than -18 °C, and volatile basic nitrogen is to be no more than 12 mg per 100 g.

4.6 The net content of prepackaged products is to meet JJF 1070.

5 Test methods

5.1.1 For body length, not less than 100 g of thawed product, or the smallest package, is taken at random; the total length of the fish, from the tip of the snout to the end of the caudal fin, is measured directly with a rule graduated in 1 mm and the mean is taken as the body length. Samples of markedly different size, large or small, are picked out.

5.1.2 For the number of fish, not less than 100 g of thawed product is weighed to 1 g and the fish are counted; the number of fish per kilogram of sample is converted by formula (1) and the result kept to a whole number. The formula comes out of the extracted text with its fraction bar lost and is not reconstructed here. Its symbols are: A, the size grade, in fish per kilogram; x, the number of fish in the sample; and m, the net weight of the sample, in grams.

5.2.1 Frozen product is inspected by placing the test sample on a white enamel tray or a stainless steel bench in a well lit place free of off-odours and examining it by eye against 4.4.1.

5.2.2 For inspection after thawing, the frozen product is put into a plastic bag, the bag is closed tightly and it is thawed under running water at 10 °C to 25 °C. When the ice on the surface has melted and the individual fish have separated, the sample is tipped into a sieve of 2 mm aperture and spread evenly to drain for 2 min to 3 min, then examined by eye on a white enamel tray or a stainless steel bench in a well lit place free of off-odours, against 4.4.2.

5.3 For the product core temperature, a drill is used to bore to the centre of the frozen block; the drill is withdrawn, a thermometer is put in at once, and the reading is taken when the thermometer stops falling.

5.4 Volatile basic nitrogen is determined as laid down in GB 5009.228.

5.5 Net content is determined as laid down in JJF 1070.

6 Inspection rules

6.1.1 Products made on the same day or by the same shift from the same raw material and by the same process form one lot.

6.1.2 Sampling is carried out as laid down in GB/T 30891.

6.2.1 Every lot is subject to delivery inspection, on size grading, sensory properties and net content. Where the lot passes, a certificate of conformity is issued, and the product enters the warehouse or leaves the factory on that certificate.

6.2.2 Type inspection covers all the items laid down in the document and is carried out when production is resumed after a stoppage of more than six months; when a change of raw material or of the main process may affect product quality; when the state supervisory authority asks for it; when delivery inspection differs greatly from the previous type inspection; as a periodic inspection at least twice a year in normal production; and when quality is disputed and arbitration requires it.

6.3.1 Where every inspection item meets the requirements of the grade declared, the lot is judged to meet the corresponding grade of the document.

6.3.2 Where an inspection item does not meet the requirements of the grade declared, a double quantity of sample is drawn again from the same lot and re-tested, and the re-test governs. If an item still fails, the lot is judged not to meet the corresponding grade of the document.

7 Marking, packaging, transport and storage

7.1 Marking is to meet SC/T 3035. Non-prepackaged products are to show the product name, the grade, the size, the place of origin and the name of the producer or seller. Marking on transport packages is to meet GB/T 191. Frozen whitebait covered by traceability arrangements is to carry a traceability mark.

7.2 Packaging is to meet SC/T 3035. Products are to be packed by one grade and one size, without mixing. Packed products are to be arranged in order and accompanied by a certificate of conformity. The package is to be firm, damp-proof and not easily damaged, and packaging materials are to be clean, dry, non-toxic and free of off-odours.

7.3 Insulated vehicles or vessels are to be used, and the temperature in the body is not to rise above -15 °C during carriage. The means of transport is to be clean and free of off-odours and is not to come into contact with corrosive or other harmful substances. During carriage the product is to be protected from sunlight, pests, contamination by harmful substances and other damage, and is not to be carried together with strongly smelling goods.

7.4 Products are to be stored in a clean cold store free of off-odours and protected from pests, contamination by harmful substances and other damage. Products of different sizes and grades are to be stacked separately and marked clearly, and raised on pallets not less than 10 cm from the floor and not less than 30 cm from the walls, the stack height being such that the cartons are not deformed under load. The cold store is not to rise above -18 °C and its temperature is to vary by no more than +/- 2 °C.

A Annex A (informative) Size grades of frozen whitebait

Table A.1 sets the size grades against two columns that pair without ambiguity: the indicator, total body length in centimetres, and the auxiliary indicator, number of whitebait per kilogram. The grades given are: 3 to 5 cm, 2 500 to 10 000 fish per kilogram; 4 to 6 cm, 1 500 to 3 000; 5 to 7 cm, 1 000 to 2 000; 6 to 8 cm, 500 to 1 200; 7 to 9 cm, 350 to 600; 8 to 10 cm, 200 to 400; 10 cm and above, not more than 230.

The length brackets overlap one another, and the count of the last grade, not more than 230 fish per kilogram, overlaps the range of the grade above it. Both features are reproduced as printed.