Press Release: August 17, 2010
Safe seafood workshop to train processors to detect oil
An expected 60 seafood processors will attend a training session to learn to assist the seafood industry in providing additional evidence for seafood safety in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Harvest from Open Waters (HOW) training will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center, 1815 Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi.
Sea Grant and Cooperative Extension Service specialists from the Gulf region developed the program to update current seafood safety approaches and add sensory and analytical screening for safety in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil leak.
Trainers will add oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to different types of Gulf seafood during the sensory training. Participants will learn how to identify unsafe seafood based on appearance, texture, odor and taste/flavor.
The training is for primary seafood processors, which are processors who get their seafood directly from fishermen.
Processors also will be trained on new Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) procedures and how to modify their HACCP plans to include a chain of custody for Gulf seafood.
The training is sponsored by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant, Florida Sea Grant, Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.