Veterinary and Hygiene Requirements for the Circulation of Fresh Fishery Products in Small Quantities

Issued pursuant to
Section 25, Clause 1 of the Veterinary Medicine Law
and Section 8, Paragraph ten of the Law
on the Supervision of the Handling of Food

1. The Regulation prescribes the veterinary and hygiene requirements for the supply to (placement on) the local market of small quantities of fresh fishery products obtained in the territory of Latvia to a final consumer or a person who carries out retail activities and sells fishery products directly to the final consumer.

2. Within the meaning of this Regulation fresh fishery products shall be sea or freshwater animals raised in the wild or in aquaculture that can be live, killed or treated in accordance with the requirements referred to in Paragraph 11 of this Regulation.

3. Fresh fishery products in small quantities shall be:

3.1. fishery products supplied by a fisherman who has a fishing permit (licence) and a special permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery for fishing in inland waters or in the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, and the amount of such fishery products does not exceed the quantity of catch imposed on the fisherman, if such is provided, but no more than 36 000 kilograms per year;

3.2. fishery products up to 36 000 kilograms per year which are supplied by a farmer of a farm registered or approved by the Food and Veterinary Service (hereinafter - the Service).

4. Fisherman or farmer of fishery products shall be responsible for the compliance with and fulfilment of the norms laid down in this Regulation.

5. Fisherman or farmer of fishery products who obtains and supplies fresh fishery products in small quantities (hereinafter - the catcher/grower of fishery products) shall register with the Service in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding the approval and registration of food establishments.

6. While preserving, treating, and transporting fresh fishery products, the catcher/grower of the fishery products shall ensure that they are:

6.1. protected from spoiling, exposure to direct sunlight or other heat sources;

6.2. placed in such a temperature that preserves their characteristic properties and is in compliance with the laws and regulations governing the handling of food;

6.3. protected from environmental pollution.

7. If the catcher/grower of fishery products or the person who carries out retail activities establishes signs of deterioration or symptoms of disease and also visible parasites for fishery products, it is prohibited to supply fishery products for human consumption.

8. Containers and vehicles used for storage and transportation of fresh fishery products shall be kept so clean that they would not cause contamination of fishery products. Containers and vehicles shall be cleaned after every use and, if necessary, disinfected.

9. When supplying live fishery products, the catcher/grower of fishery products shall ensure such conditions of storage and transportation thereof that do not affect the safety of food or viability of the relevant products.

10. Catcher/grower of fishery products shall kill live fishery products (except for lampreys and crayfish) before selling them to the final consumer using methods that cause immediate and irreversible loss of consciousness and death.

11. Catcher/grower of fishery products that supplies treated fishery products (bled, gutted, with head and fins removed) to the final consumer or a person who carries out retail activities and sells fishery products directly to the final consumer shall do the following on board:

11.1. kill and bleed live fishery products in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding welfare requirements for the killing of live fish;

11.2. gut the fishery products as soon as possible after catch;

11.3. wash the gutted fishery products with drinking water;

11.4. as soon as possible, separate and place separately from fishery products, which are used for consumption, the parts of fishery products which are not fit for consumption and use or dispose of them in accordance with the requirements of laws and regulations regarding the by-products of animal origin which are not fit for human consumption;

11.5. keep the equipment and instruments which come in contact with fishery products so clean that they would not cause contamination of fishery products and, if necessary, disinfect them.

12. Fresh fishery products shall be packed in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding mandatory harmlessness requirements for materials and equipment that come in contact with food.

13. If the catcher/grower of fishery products sells fresh fishery products directly to the final consumer, it shall place the following information in a place visible to the consumer at the point of sale:

13.1. given name, surname of the fisherman (for a legal person - name) or the name of the farm;

13.2. registration number granted by the Service;

13.3. number of the special permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery or number of a farm approved or registered by the Service;

13.4. time and place where the fishery products were caught or grown.

14. If the catcher/grower of fishery products supplies fishery products to a person who carries out retail activities and sells fishery products directly to the final consumer, the source document on the supply of fishery products shall additionally indicate the time and place where the fishery products were caught or grown.

15. Catchers/growers of fishery products whose activity is registered with the Service until the day of coming into force of this Regulation shall maintain the registration number previously granted by the Service.

16. Cabinet Regulation No. 596 of 18 July 2006, Mandatory Harmlessness Requirements for the Circulation of Small Quantities of Fishery Products (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2006, No. 114), is repealed.

Prime Minister V. Dombrovskis

Minister for Agriculture J. Dūklavs

Translation © 2020 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)