CHEFTALK
Vacuumed food and food safe temperatures
Vacuum sealing food is THE way to prolong shelf life, maintain freshness and to increase the
overall quality of food, either by chilling, freezing or dry storage. Vacuuming raw, cooked or dry food alone does
not guarantee success, there is a little more to it.
Every type
of food, whether vacuum sealed or not vacuum sealed need to comply with a set of
temperature measures to make them safe for consumption when they need storing
for a period of time.
Enforcement at home
These
temperature measures apply to all foods, raw, cooked, marinated and also dry
foods. Guidelines have been set by various departments of public health, but
often apply, or seem to apply to catering businesses and related food retailing
businesses like supermarkets, restaurants and cafés, seldom have they referred
to households.
We all know
that caterers need compliance with food safety measures, but how do these
measure translate when we store and cook food at home.
Caterers and food
retailers basically do the same thing as what homemakers do at home. Food is
ordered, received, stored and prepared, quantities may vary, but the principal
remains the same.
Main
difference is that caterers and other food handling businesses are checked at
intervals by enforcement officers where homemakers are not. Does this mean that
we can rely on the integrity of caterers and supermarkets?
The answer is NO!
Homemakers have their own part to play.
When foods
are sealed in a vacuum and left unchecked on a kitchen counter they are as much subject
to spoilage in a caterer’s kitchen as they are in a domestic kitchen.
Safe temperatures
The danger
zone lies between 41 F and 135 F. This is the temperature range bacteria love
and multiply at rapid speed. Bacteria multiply individually, meaning one
becomes two, two become four and four become eight. If you would start with one
bacterium, (which is highly unlikely) you will have 4000 bacteria after 4 hours
considering that particular bacteria multiplies every 30 minutes.
This proves
the importance of food storage under refrigerated or frozen conditions.
Vacuum packing food, slows the process of bacterial growth considerably, but does not stop it,
in fact nothing does, shelf life of vacuum sealed food becomes however interesting
prolonged as the chart below will show.
Vacuum for prolonged shelf life
Food
|
Stored
in
|
Normal
shelf life
|
Vacuum
shelf life
|
Large cuts of meat, beef, poultry,
lamb and pork
|
Freezer
|
6 months
|
2-3 years
|
Ground meat: beef, lamb, poultry, pork
|
Freezer
|
4 months
|
1 year
|
Fish
|
Freezer
|
6 months
|
2 years
|
Berries
|
Refrigerator
|
1-3 days
|
1 week
|
Cheeses, hard, semi, soft and
pasteurized. Soft cheeses should not be vacuumed
|
Refrigerator
|
1-2 weeks
|
4-8 months
|
Cookies, crackers
|
Room temperature
|
1-2 weeks
|
3-6 weeks
|
Coffee beans
|
Freezer
|
6-9 months
|
2-3 years
|
Coffee beans
|
Room temperature
|
4 weeks
|
16 months
|
Tea
|
Freezer
|
6-9 months
|
2-3 years
|
Tea
|
Room temperature
|
4 weeks
|
16 months
|
Source: Dr. G.K.York, Dept. of Food Science & Tech, U of California,
Davis
It is
important to note that laboratorial test are usually performed under perfect
conditions, conditions homemakers cannot comply with, even if they want to.
Food Safety Guide Lines
We don’t
walk around with thermometers when we do our grocery shopping, well at least I
don’t. It is nevertheless good to keep some guide lines in mind which will help
improve food safety standards.
·
Ensure
to buy fresh meat and fish that has been stored in a chilled environment.
·
Avoid
buying food in damaged packaging, for example: dented cans, damaged caps on
jars and other sealed products.
·
Ensure
that frozen food is in full frozen condition. (not half soft when handled)
·
When
your travel time from store to home is longer than 30 minutes, store fresh food
in a cooler box with frozen cooling elements.
·
Store
food immediately in the respective storage, freezer or refrigerator, after
returning home from the store.
·
Place
a refrigerator thermometer in your refrigerator and check regularly if the temperature
is constant.
Best temperatures
for storage
Refrigerated potentially hazardous
food
|
41 F or below
|
Frozen foods
|
0 F or below
|
Dry storage
|
50 – 70 F
|
When cooking
food before vacuum seal storage, ensure to cool rapidly!
·
Do
not cool at room temperature
·
Use
an ice water bath to hasten cooling
·
Divide
food in small units or spread it out to make a thin layer and refrigerate
·
Cool
the food from boiling temperature to 70 F within 2 hours and then to 41 F
within 4 hours.
·
Transfer
to food to new clean vacuum seal bags, vacuum pack and freeze or chill immediately.
·
Thaw
frozen food overnight in the refrigerator or on the defrost mode in your
microwave.
·
Reheat
food for consumption to 165 F
A few simple
measures and a bit of common sense, go a long way when it comes to food safety
By: Marinus Hoogendoorn
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