Food Safety

With the introduction of good practice in its establishments, including the ice production facilities, Docapesca can guarantee that the current legal rules of food hygiene and safety are applied.

Since this is a matter of public health, food safety runs right through the Company and involves a number of spheres of expertise: the design of infrastructure and equipment; safety and hygiene (of facilities, equipment and staff); professional training, and the operational process of the auctions.

Docapesca has modernised and upgraded its facilities and procedures in recent years to be in line with current food safety legislation.

Most of its facilities have implemented food safety and hygiene plans, based on HACCP principles, with particular reference to prerequisites such as personnel, the quality of water and ice, hygienisation, maintenance, refrigeration chains, containers, pest control and by-products.

Docapesca regularly releases the results of analyses carried out by accredited laboratories using appropriate methods to monitor the microbiological quality of the fresh water, ice and salt water used in its auction facilities. This information is shown in the table below.

Assignment of a veterinary control number (VCN) to every fish auction depended on the ratification of health and hygiene conditions required by Community and Portuguese legislation, once compliance with the general requirements of Regulation (EC) no. 852/2004 of 29 April and with the specific requirements of Regulation (CE) no 853/2 of 29 April, and other legal documents, had been confirmed.

Go here to find the Veterinary Control Number .