901:3-8-02. Transportation

(A) Shipment acceptability. Shellfish shipments shall be considered acceptable when:

(1) Shipments are properly identified with tags and shipping documents:

(2) Shellstock is alive and cooled to an internal shellstock body temperature of fifty degrees Fahrenheit or less:

(3) Shucked shellfish is cooled to a temperature of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or less:

(4) The time-temperature indicating device shows that the ambient air temperature has exceeded forty-five degrees Fahrenheit but the shellstock internal body temperature is fifty degrees Fahrenheit or less; and

(5) All other conditions of shipment in this chapter are met.

(B) Shipment rejection.

(1) Shellfish shall be rejected when:

(a) Shellfish are not properly identified with tags or shipping documents;

(b) The internal shellstock body temperature exceeds sixty degrees Fahrenheit;

(c) Shucked shellfish exceeds fifty degrees Fahrenheit; or

(d) The director determines that the product is adulterated or unsafe for human consumption.

(2) The director shall notify the shipping dealer, the receiving dealer, and the state where the shipment originated, of the shipment's rejection.

(C) Trucks or other vehicles used to transport shellstock to the original dealer.

(1) The harvester, or dealer who transports shellstock from the harvester to the original dealer, shall assure that all trucks used to transport shellstock are properly constructed, operated, and maintained to prevent contamination, deterioration, and decomposition.

(2) Storage bins on trucks or other vehicles used in the transport of shellstock for direct marketing shall be kept clean with potable water; and provided with effective drainage.

(3) Shellstock shall be transported in refrigerated trucks when the shellstock have been previously refrigerated or when ambient air temperature and time of travel are such that unacceptable bacterial growth or deterioration may occur.

(4) Prechilling trucks or other vehicles is required when ambient air temperatures are such that unacceptable bacterial growth or deterioration may occur.

(5) When mechanical refrigeration units are used, the units shall be:

(a) Equipped with automatic controls; and

(b) Capable of maintaining the ambient air temperature in the storage area at temperatures of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or less.

(6) Any ice used to cool shellstock during transport shall meet the requirements of paragraph (B)(1)(d) of rule 901:3-8-04 of the Administrative Code.

(7) Cats, dogs, and other animals shall not be allowed in any part of the truck or other vehicle where shellstock is stored.

(D) Receiving shellfish.

(1) The dealer shall reject or discard any shellfish shipments which:

(a) Do not originate from a licensed harvester or dealer; and/or

(b) Are unwholesome or adulterated, inadequately protected, or whose source cannot be identified.

(2) Transportation agents or common carriers used by a dealer are not required to be certified.

(3) The dealer shall:

(a) Inspect incoming shellfish shipments to assure that the shipments are received under the conditions required in this chapter:

(b) Ensure that shellstock are not permitted to remain without ice, mechanical refrigeration, or other approved means of lowering the internal body temperature of the shellstock to, or maintaining it at, fifty degrees Fahrenheit or less for more than two hours at points of transfer such as loading docks;

(c) Ensure that shucked shellfish are not permitted to remain without ice, mechanical refrigeration, or other approved means of maintaining shellfish temperature at forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or less; and

(d) Ensure that frozen shellfish remain frozen.

(E) Transportation containers.

(1) All containers used to transport shellstock shall be:

(a) Constructed to allow for easy cleaning; and

(b) Operated and maintained to prevent product contamination.

(2) All containers shall be cleaned with:

(a) Potable water; and

(b) Detergents, sanitizers, and other supplies acceptable for food contact surfaces.

(F) Cargo protection from cross contamination.

(1) All containers used for storing shellfish shall be clean and fabricated from safe materials.

(2) When the entire cargo consists of shellfish products only, except for bulk shipments, shellstock shipments shall be shipped on pallets. If the conveyance does not have a channeled floor, pallets shall be used for all shellfish.

(3) When the conveyance has mixed cargos, the shellfish shall be shipped as part of a mixed cargo of seafood or other food product only when:

(a) Shellfish products are protected from contamination by the other cargo;

(b) All cargo is placed on pallets; and

(c) No other cargo is placed on or above the shellfish unless all cargo is packed in sealed, crush resistant, waterproof containers.

(4) Any ice used to cool shellfish shall meet the requirements of paragraph (B)(1)(d) of rule 901:3-8-04 of the Administrative Code.

(G) Shipping times.

(1) Shipping time is no more than four hours:

(a) When the shipping time is four hours or less, the dealer shall ship all shellfish:

(i) Well iced; or

(ii) Using other acceptable means of refrigeration.

(b) When mechanical refrigeration units are used, the units shall be equipped with automatic controls and shall be capable of maintaining the ambient air in the storage area at temperatures of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or less.

(c) The dealer shall not be required to provide thermal recorders during shipment.

(d) Lack of ice or other acceptable types of refrigeration shall be considered an unsatisfactory shipping condition.

(2) Shipping time is greater than four hours:

(a) When the shipping time is greater than four hours, the dealer shall ship all shellfish in:

(i) Mechanically refrigerated conveyances which are equipped with automatic controls and capable of maintaining the ambient air in the storage area at temperatures of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or less; or

(ii) Containers with an internal ambient air temperature maintained at or below temperatures of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or less.

(b) Unless the dealer has an approved HACCP plan with an alternate means of monitoring time-temperature, the initial dealer shall assure that a suitable time-temperature recording device accompanies each shipment of shellfish.

(c) The initial dealer shall note the date and time on the temperature-indicating device, if appropriate.

(d) Each receiving dealer shall write the date and time on the temperature-indicating device, if appropriate, when the shipment is received and the doors of the conveyance or the containers are opened.

(e) The final receiving dealer shall keep the time-temperature recording chart or other record of time and temperature in a file and shall make it available to the director upon request.

(f) An inoperative temperature-indicating device shall be considered as no recording device.

Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 6/15/2020 and 06/15/2025
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3715.021
Rule Amplifies: 3715.02 , 3715.021 , 3715.03, 3715.59, 3715.70
Prior Effective Dates: 06/16/2003

Prior History: (R.C. 119.032 review dates: 08/10/2010 and 08/10/2015
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3715.021
Rule Amplifies: 3715.02 , 3715.021 , 3715.03, 3715.59, 3715.70
Prior Effective Dates: 6-16-03 )