HACCP System Applied to the Control of Water Activity and the Hysteresis Phenomenon inSalted Fish During Storage

Ensuring food safety in the seafood chain requires preventive controls aligned with regulations from the Ministries of Health and Agriculture and with increasing consumer expectations for standardized and high‑quality products. In this study, the application of the HACCP system in a fish‑processing industry was specifically evaluated, using as a practical example the production of salted fish, with emphasis on the behavior of water activity (Aw) and the occurrence of hysteresis during storage. The methodology followed GMP, SSOP, and HACCP guidelines, applying official analytical methods to determine water adsorption and desorption curves in fish muscle and to characterize Aw under different storage conditions. The results showed that, although salting significantly reduces Aw and contributes to microbiological stability, hysteresis leads to measurable variations in water‑holding capacity throughout storage, which may compromise product preservation if critical limits are not rigorously monitored. The evaluation of the example demonstrated that the salting and storage stages constitute Critical Control Points (CCPs) within the HACCP plan, requiring continuous monitoring, verification procedures, and well‑defined corrective actions. These findings reinforce that understanding the hygroscopic behavior of salted fish is essential for establishing effective preventive measures and for improving decision‑making in hazard analysis. It is concluded that integrating HACCP with a correct interpretation of Aw dynamics and hysteresis is fundamental to ensuring a safe, stable, and standardized product that complies with domestic and international market requirements.