Country Paper — Malaysia | 63
production to the final consumers — that is, on board fishing vessels, on aquaculture farm, fish landings, distribution to and from factories, transportation, wholesale markets, storage and at retail outlets.
It is important to note that primary products in fisheries may either come from marine fisheries (capture fisheries) or aquaculture (culture fisheries).
In most instances the poor quality of raw material is the primary reason for end product to be categorized as decomposed. In most industries, improper handling and storage of both raw material as well as finished products further aggravated the poor quality of raw materials (Subasinghe, S., 1997).
Therefore, there is a need to have a HACCP at source programme that will ensure safety of products at the primary production level. There are two main HACCP at source plans being implement currently by the Department of Fisheries namely:
(a) Monitoring programme for marine fisheries The monitoring programme for marine fisheries is conducted by the Extension and Training Division with technical assistance from the Fisheries Research Institute.
The aims of this programme is to ensure that fish caught from the sea is free from pollution, high quality and safe for consumption.
The programme involves collecting sample from various sites (landing jetty and fisheries waters), followed by laboratory work for analysis of the samples. In line with the significant requirement of HACCP at source, this programme is designed to conduct seven types of analysis, namely, bacterial contamination in shellfish, biotoxin content in fish and shellfish, histamine content in fish, plankton identification in water, heavy metal residues in fish and shellfish, pesticide residues in fish and shellfish and sensory evaluation for freshness of fish.
Thirty-three areas has been identified throughout Peninsular Malaysia (28 areas), Sarawak (4 areas) and Labuan (1 area). The areas in Sabah will be identified later under the jurisdiction of Sabah State Fisheries.
This programme has been carried out on a trial basis this year and will be fully implemented by year 2001 since the budget and allocation for these programme has already being approved under the Eighth Malaysian Plan.
(b) Code of Practice (COP) For Aquaculture Aquaculture products need special attention during both pre-harvest and post-harvest handling. The COP for Aquaculture is a non-binding document that is developed to achieve the main goals towards a sustainable development in aquaculture through caring for the environment and products safety and quality.
Four major areas have been outlined in the COP, as stated below:
(i) Site selection
(ii) Design and construction of farm (iii) Management and post-harvest (iv) Aspects on safety and quality.
Guidelines regarding hygiene and sanitation practices for the site-selection and the design and construction of farm have been documented. The importance of safety and quality are also provided in the guidelines for farm management (such as the control use of drug and chemical) and for post-harvest (such as proper handling of products and temperature control during storage).
In future, it is hoped that COP will be used fully by the fish farmers as guidelines in their aquaculture practice which is both beneficial for them and the country.
4. Complementary role with other Government agencies
The Department of Fisheries has actively participated in a number of committee under various agencies in relation to food quality and safety.
Among others this include the HACCP committee, SPS committee For Food safety and CODEX committee.
At present, the HACCP committee has come out with a draft for Malaysian HACCP standard.
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bioremediation and biomonitoring and marine culture biotechnology. These will include processing of seaweed - based product, chitosan, functional food from fish (fish oil), reformulated fish product, fish gelatin, fish protein concentrate, and by-products from fish (skin leather and pet food).
(2) Product development targeting at improving traditional products, and their presentation.
(3) Utilization of by-catch by reducing post-harvest losses through maximizing fish utilization and improving fish handling practices.
(4) Effort in increasing fish production through aquaculture. Using aquaculture produce for value- added product.
(5) Emphasis on fully implementing HACCP programmes in the fish processing industry.
(6) To develop generic HACCP plans for marine products especially for small and medium scale processing.
(7) To develop generic HACCP plans for aquaculture products.
(8) Development of standard and quality assurance programme in the production of wholesome, HALAL, safe and healthy aquatic produce.
(9) To carry out field training in fish quality control and quality assurance program intended for plant manager, quality control supervisor and line worker involved in fish processing.
(10) To implement a massive extension service programme on HACCP, GHP and GMP in the fish processing plants for effective and immediate transfer of technology at the regional level.
However, for this industry to be sustainable and competitive there are certain issues/constraints that should be addressed, namely:
(1) Regular supply of raw materials.
(2) Assurance of good quality of raw materials.
(3) Labor shortage.
(4) Availability of skilled and unskilled workers.
(5) Awareness and commitment for HACCP implementation.
(6) Suitability of factory site.
(7) Availability of basic infrastructure for processing plant.
(8) Product development and promotion.
(9) Product presentation (packaging techniques).
(10) Existing factory not complying GMP/GHP/SSOP.
(11) Low technology in fish processing.
■ Conclusion
Increasing fish production will be the utmost important agenda in the next decade. Nonetheless, this has to be done in a manner not at the expense of reducing the quality life of aquatic organisms.
Aquaculture practices with strict quality management would provide an important source of reliable raw materials, an essential factor very much needed by the fish processing industry. Capture fisheries will still be maintained in a sustainable manner. Seafood quality and safety issues will be addressed in a more serious and orderly manner with the drafting of new regulations which would encompass quality management tools such as GMP, HACCP and ISO 9000; and with the full implementation of the Fish Health and Quality Assurance mechanism under the Department of Fisheries during the 7th Malaysian Plan, mechanization and high technology will gradually replace the existing practices.
The government will continue improving infrastructure facilities to further strengthen the fish and fish products industry. With these positive indications, the fish processing industry in Malaysia can look forward to a challenging future with confidence.
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R e fe r e n c e s
Hazizi, A. and N or Ainy, M. 1999. HACCP fo r the M a rine Fisheries and A qu acu lture Products
B .P iyan, T. 19 99 . C u rrent Status and Q u a lity P rog ram m e o f Fish P ro c e s s in g I n d u s tr y In M a la y s ia In : P ro c e e d in g s o f th e APO S e m in a r On Q u a lity C o n tro l In Fish P rocessing, Tokyo, Jap an , A p ril
1 9 9 9 (in p rin t). Asian P ro d u c tiv ity O rg a n iz a tio n . D e p a rtm e n t o f Fisheries — A n n u a l Fisheries Statistics
1 9 9 5 , 1 9 9 6 , 1997 Vol. 1 & 11. D e p a rtm e n t o f Fisheries, M alaysia.
D e pa rtm e nt o f Statistics. 1997. M o n th ly Statistical B ulletin (August, 19 97 ):3 6. M alaysia
Gan, B .H . 1 9 9 1 . Present Status o f Fish Processing in Malaysia In: Proceedings o f the Seminar on Advances in Fishery Post-harvest Technology in Southeast Asia, 6-11 M ay, 1 9 9 1 , S in g a p o re . M a rin e F ish e rie s Research D e p a rtm e n t, S outheast Asian Fisheries D evelopm ent Center.
H am d a n , J and Wan Rahim ah, W .l. 1 9 9 6 . Status and
D e v e lo p m e n t in th e Fish Processing In d u s try in Malaysia. In: Proceedings o f the Seminar on Advances in Fish Processing Technology In Southeast Asia in R e la tio n to Q u a lity M a n a g e m e n t. 28 O c to b e r-2 N ovem ber 1996, Singapore: 50-57. M a rine Fisheries Research D e p a rtm e n t, S ou thea st Asian Fisheries D evelopm ent Center.
K a m a ru z a m a n ,S . a n d L im , C.F. 1 9 9 8 . In v e s tm e n t P o te n tia l in th e F isheries Sector. D e p a rtm e n t o f Fisheries, M alaysia.
M in is tr y o f In te rn a tio n a l Trade a n d In d u s try . Second In d u stria l M aster Plan, 1 9 9 6 -2 0 0 5 . M alaysia.
Wan Rahimah, W.l. 1995. Recent Trends and Developm ent in the Fish Processing Ind ustry o f Malaysia (Presented at the Fisheries Extension and Training Seminar, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. 6-7 June 1995).
Yu, S.Y. 1995. Fish Processing and Preservation — Recent Advances and Future D irection . (An in a u gura l lecture p re s e n te d at th e U n iv e rs iti P e rta n ia n M a la y s ia , Serdang, Selangor, 9 Decem ber 1995).
6 6 | A p p lic a t io n o f HACCP in th e Fish Processing In d us try in Southeast Asia
P r e s e n t S t a t u s o f F i s h
P r o c e s s i n g I n d u s t r y i n M y a n m a r a n d I m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f H A C C P S y s t e m
T i n H l a * a n d T i n t W a i * *
* Assistant Director, Department of Fisheries, Myanmar
** Chief Inspector, Export Quality Control Laboratory, Department of Fisheries, Myanmar
■ I n t r o d u c t i o n
The Department of Fisheries (DOF), under the Ministry of Livestock & Fisheries, is the government agency responsible for the inspection and licensing of all export oriented fish processing industries in Myanmar.
The Department is concerned for the export- oriented fish processing industries to ensure food safety and to meet with the health and sanitary requirements of the importing countries. During the last four fiscal years (1995-2000), the development of the fisheries sector of Myanmar have achieved significant results.
Annual fishery production, catching and aquaculture, has increased from approximately 673,000 tonnes in 1995 to around 1,032,000 tonnes in 2000 (Table 1), while the export for the corresponding year from approximately 54,324 tonnes to 116,591 tonnes in 2000 (Table 2). In comparison with the other economic sectors, Myanmar fishery sector is now ranked in third position in export value and it is the fastest growing sector in the economy.