Public Health Hazard10 pointsFood Source & Adulteration

03B — Shellfish not from an approved source / improperly tagged

Shellfish are filter feeders and a top cause of foodborne outbreaks, so each container arrives with a tag naming the certified harvester/dealer and a federal certification number. That tag is the only way the Department can trace a bad batch back to the water it came from. You must keep each tag for 90 days after the last shellfish in that container is used. The inspector opens your tag file and counts back the dates. Shellfish with no tag, or from an uncertified dealer, must be discarded. Public health hazard, cited at 10 points.

What the inspector looks for

Open the shellfish tag binder. Every batch of oysters/clams/mussels must have its source tag, and tags must be kept 90 days from the day that container was emptied. Untagged shellfish or missing tags = flag it.

Points & grade impact

Cited at 10 points — Cited at 10 (condition IV); uncorrected PHH → 28. NYC adds every cited violation’s points into one inspection score: 0–13 = A, 14–27 = B, 28+ = C.

How to fix it

Remove untagged or unapproved-source shellfish from service and discard; produce source tags for shellfish in use.

How to prevent it

Buy shellfish only from certified dealers; keep each source tag and retain it for 90 days from the date the container is emptied.

✓Buy shellfish only from certified dealers and refuse any delivery without an attached tag.
✓Write the date you empty each container on its tag, then file it.
✓Keep every tag for 90 days from the empty date, in date order so you can produce them fast.
✓Do not commingle different batches/tags in one container — keep each lot identifiable.

Reference: Health Code §81.04(c)

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