1. Raw material reception.
Raw Material Requirements Live Raw Material. The raw material enters the processing plant transported from the pier in closed and clean trucks, in PVC trays. The unloading process is carried out by company personnel or external personnel. Once in the plant, the raw material is placed on stainless steel counters for selection and debris inside.
2. Slaughter and Washing.
This operational step is common to both the king crab and the spider crab processes.
A qualified operator performs this procedure, where they select the live raw material from the dead ones.
The dead units are deposited in trays identified as floor units, from which they are eliminated from the process. In turn, the live units are slaughtered, where knives are used to make a cut under the abdomen of each live king crab/spider crab that passes through the processing line, to proceed with the washing.
Washing: This is done by operators who proceed to wash the king crab/spider crab in the following way: they pull the abdomen back and insert a hose and/or air suction or cold potable water into the interior of the king crab/spider crab to remove any remaining viscera and debris inside.
3. Tying / Disarticulation (optional):
In the case of whole and cluster products, elastic bands are used to keep the extremities attached to the body. On the other hand, in the case of cluster and claw presentations, the body parts are manually extracted, and the product is then deposited in baskets, trays, or bins.
The input used in this process is of Food Grade quality.
4. Storage I (Optional):
If there is any product left to be processed (tying and/or cooking) at the end of the slaughter or washing process or at the end of the workday, it will be stored in a 0°C chamber for preservation for a maximum period of 24 hours, at a temperature never exceeding 4°C.
5. Blanching/Cooking
Blanching: The tied or disarticulated product is placed in stainless steel baskets, which are then immersed in a cooker filled with hot water heated by steam at a temperature between 90°C to 100°C.
According to customer’s request, which is NOT CONSIDERED a heat treatment since its purpose is not to reduce microbiological contamination, but to improve the sensory characteristics of the product (therefore, it is not executed according to established heat penetration parameters and salt may be added as an ingredient to enhance the quality of the product). The variables to be applied will be considered according to the customer’s requirements. For this case, the product will be considered raw.
Cooking: In this operational step, the baskets loaded with the product are submerged in a stainless steel cooker with hot water heated by steam, according to the thermal treatments that will be applied as defined in thermal penetration studies defined for each type of products.
6. Cooling: After cooking, the product is cooled in a tub with potable water and ice, with a medium temperature of ≤ 25°C. The maximum temperature for the product should be 25°C for whole/cluster products, and for meat products, the maximum temperature should be 10°C with a medium temperature of ≤ 10°C.
These temperatures and times are supported by microbiological proliferation studies conducted by the plant.
7. Washing II (Optional):
Once the cooling process is finished, the baskets are moved to a grilling station, where an optional washing step is performed. This washing step is carried out using potable water under pressure to remove any leftover grease residues adhered to the product (whole, clusters, claws).
8. Meat extraction: The meat extraction process is done manually, where the shoulders and meros are removed using stainless steel utensils, and the fillet is extracted using rollers or also manually. Water under pressure can also be used to extract the white meat from the king crab by applying pressure on the fluid.
The maximum product temperature of 10oC.
9. Meat Cleaning: The meat cleaning process is done manually using tongs to remove
cartilage, shells, and bones. The maximum product temperature is 10 oC.
10. Soak and Draining:
The extracted meat is washed with cold potable water by immersion in a tub or trays with potable water for about 2 to 7 minutes. After immersion, the trays are placed on racks or pallets and sent to a 0°C chamber for draining at a temperature that does not exceed 10°C.
The temperatures and water replacement times are endorsed by microbiological proliferation studies conducted by the plant, which establishes a frequency of water replacement.
11. Storage II (Optional): If the plant does not have immediate processing capacity or the end of the day is reached, the product will be stored in a 0°C chamber, awaiting further processing. The product temperature will not exceed 4°C for a maximum period of 24 hours.
12. Weighing, Molding, and Coating (optional):
This stage consists of weighing the meat to make the different presentations. The proportions of the molds for king crab are 25%, shoulders, 20% fillets and split shoulders, and a maximum of 55% white meat. In the case
of snow crab, the proportions will be 40% red meat and 60% white meat.
Once the meat is weighed, it is placed in stainless steel molds or trays with a polyethylene sheet inside, which is used to facilitate the demolding of the blocks, and coating is added, consisting of a solution of water, salt, and citric acid. They are then covered with a stainless steel lid. This stage is continuous, and the molds are later moved to the grilling area.
13. Grilling – Freezing (optional): The product is placed on ventilated trays, bins, or plates on freezing carts and sent to the tunnel for a period of 20 hours and kept in the tunnel at – 18oC until ready for release. Freezing must achieve at least -18°C at the thermal center of
14. Unmolding: The product coming from the freezing tunnels is extracted from the bins or carts, with a center temperature of -18°C. Then, the product is taken to the packing room where it is removed from the bins or carts and placed on trays for subsequent glazing..
In the case of meat product, similar to the whole product, the molds contained in carts or trays are taken out from the freezing tunnels at a center temperature of less than -18°C. In the packing line, the lid of the mold is removed, and then the meat block is extracted.
15. Glazing: In this operational step, the product is glazed by immersing it in water at temperatures between 0°C to -2°C (operational limit). The water replacement time is determined by a microbiological study carried out by the plant.
16. Weighing and calibration: After glazing, the product is placed in trays and then individually placed on the scale for calibration. Skilled operators select units according to their weight, and calibrations are performed according to customer specifications
17. Packaging:
Primary packaging: For whole, cluster, and claw products, they are weighed, calibrated, and packaged in individual heat-sealed polyethylene bags (if the client requests, they can be non-sealed). The product can also be packaged in a single bag or wrapped in sheets. In the case of meat, the molds are placed in individual bags and sealed.
Secondary packaging: The product is placed in variable weight cardboard boxes. In the case of meat, the sealed molds can be placed in a master box (in this case, the master box will be considered tertiary packaging), or directly in a determined quantity of molds, in master cardboard boxes. Then, the boxes are weighed and labeled, and subsequently strapped or sealed with adhesive tape.
The primary and secondary packages must include at least:
Production date ; Expiration date; The word Chile; Plant code; Traceability number; Product name
The finished product with temperatures above -18°C will be placed on pallets and entered into maintenance chambers and/or cold containers programmed with temperatures below -18°C to recover temperature. In the case of raw product, the phrase “Cook before consuming” must be labeled.
18. Storage: Boxes with finished frozen products are transported to the storage room or containers where they remain until the time of dispatch at a temperature equal to or below -18oC and for a maximum of 18 months from the date of manufacture.
In the case of live products, the units are placed in polystyrene boxes in the holding room awaiting dispatch.
To verify the proper functioning of the freezing equipment, a thermometer that retains temperature data is available and located in the highest temperature zone of the storage room.
19. Delivery: This stage consists of transporting the packaged product from the plant in trucks (or containers) equipped with a refrigeration system capable of maintaining the temperature below -18°C in the case of frozen product. In the case of live product, it will be transported by plane or other means of transportation.
20. Reprocessing: This stage involves subjecting the product already packed in the plant to another process. The product is thawed in a zero-degree chamber or at room temperature, taking control of the temperatures involved from the start of thawing in the internal record of product control in transit. Once thawed, it is subjected to an untying, tying, or disarticulation process according to requirements, passing to step 7 (in the case of whole to cluster) or step 8 (whole-cluster to meat).
NS-America 