post-harvest practices for Controlling Vibrio in Bivalve molluscan Shellfish  

Vibrio is a leading cause of human acute gastroenteritis associated with consumption of raw shellfish, particularly oysters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 45,000 cases of Vibrio infection occur each year in the U.S. Vibrio infection caused by raw oyster is a major concern for public health and causes substantial economic losses to the shellfish industry. It is estimated that one in 2,000 meals of raw molluscan shellfish serves as the vehicle for Vibrio infection and consumption of raw oysters is responsible for about 95% of all deaths associated with seafood consumption in the U.S. This presentation will give an overview of Best Industry Practices (BIPs) for reducing Vibrio risk in shell-stock oyster and other molluscan shellfish. BIPs include Time and Temperature Controls (Table 1), Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). In addition, several post-harvest processes (PHP), such as low-temperature pasteurization, high pressure processing, low-dose irradiation, flash-freezing followed by frozen storage, and refrigerated circulating wet-storage technology are also included.