SouthFresh Farms offers lots of great options for food service distributors. Our catfish can be ordered in a wide variety of portion sizes, as bone-in whole fish or coated with our special breading.
Farm-Raised Catfish, Whole, IQF RAW MATERIAL SOURCE Farm-raised, grain-fed catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Raw material shall possess characteristic flavor, odor, color, and texture for the species. All pre-harvest drugs utilized during grow out of the product shall be FDA approved, low regulatory priority aquaculture products, and used in accordance with proper withdrawal times and other label conditions. Product shall not possess residual drug/chemical levels above acceptable FDA levels. Product shall be free of parasites. INGREDIENT STATEMENT Farm-raised catfish, water, sodium tripolyphosphate. PORTION CONTROL A minimum of 90% by count of the whole fish in each case shall conform to the specified size range +/- ½ oz. PROCESSING PROCEDURES 1. Headless, skinless, and eviscerated catfish shall be processed to remove all viscera, blood spots, and bruises. 2. All product shall have all fins attached. No more than 5% by weight of fish is allowed to be missing fins or tails. 3. Each fillet shall be subjected to an IQF freeze, water glazed to prevent freezer burn or dehydration, and packed. NET DEGLAZED WEIGHT The net deglazed weight shall be determined by 50 CFR 265.107(c), and in all instances, meet or exceed the stated case weight. DEFECT CRITERIA Product is checked for defects as stated in 50 CFR 267.101-107. MICROBIOLOGICAL STANDARDS 1. Total Aerobic Plate Count < 200,000/g 2. Total Coliforms < 500/g MPN 3. E. coli < 10/g MPN 4. Staphylococcus aureus (coag +) < 9.1/g MPN 5. Salmonella Negative in all samples PACKAGING AND LABELING REQUIREMENTS 1. Product shall be packed in a poly-lined Master case. Poly liner shall be at least 1.25 mil thick. 2. Master case shall be a preprinted, brown, staple-free container with a minimum bursting strength of 250#. 3. Case labels and printing shall conform to standards set forth by SouthFresh Quality Assurance. 4. Production date coding system shall consist of a six-digit code. The first and fourth digits shall identify the month, and the second and third digits shall represent the day. The fifth digit represents the last digit of the year. The sixth digit represents the period number. The following are examples: 010132 - January 10, 2003; 2nd Period 018633 - June 18, 2003; 3rd Period 123134 - November 23, 2003; 4th Period 5. Production code date, and product identification label, shall appear on all Master cases. 6. Product shall be maintained at or below 10°F during the distribution process. 7. Product shall pass through properly functioning metal detection equipment during processing. K. SHELF LIFE (0°F or less) 6 months