Land Frozen Clam Meat

This product is a raw, single-frozen ingredient consisting of the whole meat of the Manila clam, shucked without any thermal treatment and individually quick-frozen on land within hours of harvest. It is supplied exclusively for further cooking and is not classified as a ready-to-eat food.

Raw material and post-harvest handling – Live clams are hand-harvested or suction-dredged from classified intertidal growing areas subject to statutory biotoxin monitoring. Immediately after collection, the animals are placed in refrigerated seawater held at 2–5 °C and transported to the shore facility. Total elapsed time from harvest to plant reception does not exceed 4 hours.

Depuration and shucking – At the facility, clams enter a recirculating depuration system. Filtered seawater is disinfected by ultraviolet radiation at a minimum dose of 30 mJ/cm² and maintained at 8–12 °C with salinity of 25–30 ppt. Depuration continues for a minimum of 24 hours, with turbidity and indicator organism counts monitored at 6-hour intervals. Cleaned clams are shucked in a temperature-controlled hall kept below 10 °C. Mechanical knife systems or manual operators sever the adductor muscles; the whole meat-foot, mantle, viscera-is released without the application of heat, steam, or chemical relaxants. The raw meats are separated from shell fragments by brine flotation and inspected on a conveyor for residual debris or damaged tissue.

Freezing technology – Shucked meats are transferred directly to an Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) tunnel. Air temperature within the tunnel is held at −35 °C to −40 °C. Core meat temperature drops from ambient to −20 °C within 15 minutes. Rapid freezing combined with a high air velocity minimises ice crystal dimensions and largely preserves the myofibrillar ultrastructure. No water glaze or ice coating is applied; the product is dry-packed. The frozen pieces remain free-flowing and can be portioned by weight directly from the carton.

Quality and safety compliance – Production operates under a documented HACCP plan. Every lot is held in quarantine pending results of accredited laboratory tests. Paralytic, amnesic, and diarrhetic shellfish toxins are determined by LC-MS/MS; heavy metals (cadmium, lead, mercury) are quantified by ICP-MS. Microbiological specifications require absence of Salmonella in 25 g, Listeria monocytogenes in 25 g, and Vibrio spp. below defined thresholds. The product contains no additives, preservatives, phosphates, sulfites, or colouring agents.

Composition and nutritional profile (typical values per 100 g raw meat) – Energy: 70–80 kcal; protein: 12–15 g; total fat: 1.0–1.5 g; carbohydrate (principally glycogen): 2–4 g; iron: 14–18 mg; vitamin B12: 25–40 µg; selenium: 25–35 µg; EPA + DHA: 0.2–0.3 g. The amino acid score exceeds 1.0 for all essential amino acids.

Storage and usage – Store continuously at −18 °C or below. Validated shelf life under these conditions is 18 months. The raw meat must be fully cooked to an internal temperature meeting local regulatory requirements before service. It can be added frozen to soups, sauces, stir-fries, and steaming applications, or thawed under refrigeration for cold preparations where a subsequent cooking step is applied. This product is designed for food manufacturers, central kitchens, and food service operators that require a minimally processed clam ingredient with a native taste and texture profile