Principles and Practice for the Safe Processing of Foods
• Comprehensive guide to food safety in processing
• All aspects covered including buildings, plant layout, management of ingredients and products, and processing sanitation
• Included: the microbiological basics of food safety
This basic food industry handbook provides food processing managers, engineers and sanitarians with a practical, science-based guide to food safety in the context of food processing operations. All significant aspects are covered in detail, including building design and materials, plant layout and sanitation, safety aspects of processing methods, and safety management of ingredients and products.
The recommended practices and procedures are presented within the framework of the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach, which emphasizes controls for safety in all processing stages. The text is organized for easy reference, illustrated with numerous schematics, and supplemented with tables containing important reference data.
Table of Contents
Chapters 2-13 end with sections of References and Further Reading.
Introduction
Purpose
Background
Uses of this book
Assessment of an operation
Management philosophy, attitudes and organization
Plant, processes and procedures
Quality audits
Quality audits--definitions and outline of procedure
Appendix: Auditing checklist
Establishment and implementation of HACCP
Establishment and use of HACCP
Implementing the HACCP system
Summary and conclusions
Buildings
Site and environment: Plant location, Plant environment, Plant layout
Design and construction: Design, Notes on construction
Maintenance and alterations: Maintenance, Alterations
Pest control and disinfestation: Pests, Guidelines for the exclusion and elimination of infestants, Monitoring of infestants, Insect disinfestation, Contract pest control
Utilities: Air and other process gases, Vacuum, Steam, Process water, Liquid waste, Electricity
Sanitation
Sanitary (hygienic) design: Plant (factory) layout, Manufacturing department layout, Sanitary (hygienic) design of equipment
Installation and alteration: Installation, Alterations
Maintenance: Introduction, Preventative or breakdown maintenance, Maintenance operations
Cleaning and disinfection: Introduction, Overview, Development, Sanitizers, Notes on exceptional cleaning requirements
Foreign material control: Introduction, Means of control, Notes on establishing criteria, Notes on application of control methods
Personnel
Hygienic practices
Facilities and protective clothing
Training for product safety--management, supervision and operators
Training aids and materials--some commercially available examples
Microorganismsan outline of their structure
Introduction
Viruses
Bacteria
Fungi--yeast and molds
Glossary
Biological factors underlying food safety, preservation and stability
Number of microorganisms in foods and their growth kinetics: Contamination, Growth kinetics
Factors affecting the growth curve: Background--the most important factors, Water, Temperature, pH and acidity, Oxygen and oxidation--reduction potential (Redox), Nutrients
Physico-chemical factors affecting survival: Background, Rate of death, Heat death--logarithmic death rates, Radiation, Lethal chemical agents, Indirect action of environmental conditions, Sulfites--a note on their mode of action and application
Insights into microbiological control methods
Microbiological examination
Challenge testing (including shelf-life assessment)
Pathogenicity and pathogen profiles
Introduction--pathogens and food processing
Pathogens and illness
Spoilage--including enzymes and their importance
Notes on spoilage
Notes on enzymes and their importance
Aspects of microbiological safety in food preservation technologies
Chilled foods
Frozen foods
Dried foods
Conventionally canned foods
Aseptically packaged foods
Physico-chemically preserved foods
aw (water-activity) Controlled foods
Criteria for ingredients and finished products
Food safety strategy and the use of criteria
Microbiological criteria
Microbiological criteria data tables
Ingredients--defects and foreign materials
Index
Tables and Figures
The reference value of this handbook is augmented by the inclusion of more than 100 data tables, diagrams, flow charts, checklists, sample forms, and graphs. The tables and graphs provide quantitative data on practical safety questions. Checklists, sample forms, and flow charts provide useful management aids. Here is a small sampling of this material.
Tables: - Categories of food products based on product hazard characteristics - Check these trouble points at recommended frequencies - Specimen personal hygiene and safety rules - Main insecticides in aqueous solution recommended for disinfestation - Water economy checklist - HACCP analysis of line cleaning - Incidence of contaminants - Low limiting water activity of microorganisms - Growth range temperatures of some microorganisms - Microbiological criteria data tables (series of tables for more than 200 food products)
Figures: - Example of monitoring records - Hypothetical plant cleaning schedule - Design of floor drains - Rodent proofing of interior dock Growth rate of a population of microorganisms showing phases - Response of microorganisms to environmental pH - Enzyme kinetics - Typical food isotherm
