Vacuum Sealed Food and Food Safe Temperatures

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.

Find your vacuum sealer here:   www.vacupack.com  for USA and www.vacupack.ca for Canada.

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

            

Food Safety and Should I Vacuum Package Food at Home

CHEFTALK

Food Safety and Should I Vacuum Package Food at Home

Introduction

Food safety appears to be a subject of serious concern to many. Food safety is an issue that consumers too often relate to the food producing industry. They continue to view the use and misuse of agricultural chemicals, pesticides and animal drugs as the major concern. Domestic issues are often not taken seriously enough for the average consumer to decide on measures to improve their own situation. Rarely our domestic food safety issues are considered to be a hazard.

Facts and Figures

Each year, 33 million people in the US alone become ill as a direct result of food borne illness, more than 9000 people die. Food borne illness related deaths comes with a cost of lost wages, insurance claims and medical bills of a staggering 23 billion dollars yearly.

Food Safety at Home

Food safety at home attributes largely to food borne illnesses. The most serious food safety problem in the United States is food borne illness of microbial origin. Microbial spoilage is caused by microorganisms like fungus, yeast and bacteria. They spoil food by growing in it and producing substances that change the color, odor and texture of the food making the food unfit for human consumption.

Something you do not want

Microbial spoilage happens more than often in our own homes. Contact spoilage is a term used when spoiled food comes in direct contact with sound food as a result of direct contact or touching between the food and any contaminated surface. This may be a contaminated chopping board, shelves or unwashed hands. It also includes food to food contact, for example between cooked and raw food. In general spoiled food is identified by smell, (sour milk) but it needs to be noted that not all bad food smells bad. (Salmonella contaminated food does not look or smells bad for example)

The world we live in with its rapid pace of living and our consumption style of living results in many people neglecting food safety standards at home and the social and financial impact it may have.

Reasons of Neglect

A limited commitment to food preparation activities at home. The no time factor.

A lack of knowledge of basic food safety principles, as described in HACCP standards.

Increased interest in convenience and saving time rather than proper food handling and preparation at home are some of the contributing factors of food borne illnesses that may occur due to neglect at home.

Why should I vacuum at home

Vacuum and be safe

Where and how does the vacuum sealer come in play and aid us with these issues on hand. 

First of all we need to ‘really’ understand that a vacuum sealer is not a magic piece of equipment that solves all your food safety issues with the sound of air being sucked out of a vacuum bag. 

What does a vacuum sealer do then?

1. A vacuum sealer saves time and $Money.

2. A vacuum sealer maintains freshness and flavor three to five times longer than conventional storage. (money saving)

3. A vacuum sealer improves texture and appearance of food products.

4. A vacuum sealer disallows foods from drying out (no freezer burn)

5. A vacuum sealer improves marinating times for meats marinated and vacuumed.

6. A vacuum sealer greatly reduces wastage of foods (portion control, money saving).

BUT, 

• We need to understand that vacuum sealed food still needs to be refrigerated or frozen.
• We need to ensure hygienic working conditions and food handling procedures.
• We need to use proper vacuum sealing bags. (Proper sealing)
• We need to understand that vacuum sealed food left on the kitchen sink is still subject to bacterial activity and spoilage.

Fight it !

When we keep the above into account our food safety will improve and the investment in a quality vacuum sealer is more than worth your money spent.

Studies have shown that there is desire for foods with a fresh taste that are minimally packed and processed, a very encouraging trend. It means that consumers move towards fresh produce, pre-prepare at home, portion pack and vacuum their own prepared meals or parts thereof.

Labor saving pieces of food equipment like food processors and microwave ovens are almost common like a TV in many households.

 A quality vacuum sealer should definitely be part of that list.

Quality Vacuum Sealer

Invest in a quality vacuum sealer:    www.vacupack.com    www.vacupack.ca 

By: Marinus Hoogendoorn

   

Is HACCP only Applicable to Professionals?

IS HACCP ONLY APPLICABLE TO PROFESSIONALS?       PART 2

Re-cap                                                                              

In part 1 of this subject, I explained the paper work involved in practicing HACCP professionally. 

If identifying all these critical control points is so important to ensure food safety standards, what happens when all these carefully taken measures are done away with at home?

Well, as a consumer we trust the manufacturer, especially when they have a HACCP logo on their packaging label. When we come home after the purchase, we open the packaging. Maybe we use a part of it, store the balance in the refrigerator and that is it. 

Let us look at this example.  When a manufacturer uses a table model can opener and the internal part of the opener (where the knife is placed) is rusty, this becomes a critical control point by HACCP standards and the manufacturer will be required to rectify this Critical Control Point by replacing the can opener with one made of full stainless steel.

Practicing HACCP at Home                                                                   

When we have the same issue at home, there is no more issue. Because 

nobody realizes or notices that some rust in a can opener is actually not too good for you and your family.

Surely we all hold the health of our family at heart. Practicing full HACCP at home is unthinkable. We simply do not do that. 

Practicing good hygiene and keeping some of the HACCP principles in mind is however a good idea.

Implementing:

                                                                 

Re-packing is a good practice, when you use part of a product from a can, you will not be able to close the can again. If that is the case place the balance content of the used can in a vacuum pouch and vacuum. 

If it is liquid (soup for example), you can freeze the balance in the pouch and vacuum after freezing.

                                                                              

Re-Pack

Most if not all of products available in the market can be treated this way. Products bought in jars, cans and other types of packaging. The products do not only stay in better condition but their shelf life is prolonged and they will not be subjected to hazardous bacteria that accumulate on the inside of jar lids and lids of half opened cans anymore. 

When you pre- prepare foods before vacuuming, ensure that your work station is clean and that you do not mix raw and cooked food products. Clean chopping boards and utensils before use and when you switch from meat to fish to fruit to vegetables. Best is to use dedicated chopping boards but not everyone does or can do that.  

                                                                      

Find your Vacuum Sealer  www.vacupack.com  www.vacupack.ca

Keep your vacuum sealer clean especially the seal strip. It is likely you do not use the vacuum sealer everyday and it is therefore important that hazardous bacteria have no accumulation opportunities during storage of the machine.

Applying HACCP principles will help you to achieve better home cooking practices. Your vacuum sealer is a perfect tool and aids you again.

The question was:

Is HACCP applicable at home? Yes it is, nobody expects you to fill in all the forms like manufacturers are required to do. The main principle of HACCP is food safety and that is something that can be achieved. 

By: Marinus Hoogendoorn

Is HACCP only Applicable to Professionals

IS HACCP ONLY APPLICABLE TO PROFESSIONALS?       PART 1

What is HACCP

HACCP means, the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points.

It is a system designed to improve manufacturing standards in food safety, hygiene and traceability. HACCP is a system of prevention and not meant to check on finished products. We can actually split the abbreviation HACCP into half.

Hazard Analysis means, to analyze what the hazards are, and Critical Control Points means, identifying where the hazards occur and take preventive measures to avoid future occurrences.

Practicing HACCP in food manufacturing

Practicing HACCP involves an extensive flow of paper work, starting at the very beginning of the manufacturing process until the product is ready for packing. HACCP is designed to detect shortcomings in the manufacturing process that may have been practiced without the knowledge of the manufacturer.

Practice is, every single step an ingredient goes through during manufacturing is recorded and must be accounted for. If during HACCP inspection by external inspectors the manufacturer fails to explain the absence of record of one of the steps, that step becomes a critical control point to be rectified.

Required steps to follow                           

An easier understanding is made with a practical example. 

Let’s say you manufacture tomato sauce and you use canned tomatoes as an ingredient. You are not responsible for the manufacturing of the tomatoes but you are responsible for the purchases you make buying cans of tomatoes from a by you chosen trusted supplier. Your HACCP record must therefore show:

1. Brand and supplier of the tomatoes

2. Delivery date

3. The date when you used the tomatoes (if not the total delivery, then how much of it)

4. In which production batch you used the tomatoes and when (a batch number must show that)

5. What you made with the tomatoes (in this example tomato sauce)

6. Identification of packing (retail or direct end user e.g. restaurant)

7. Where the batch went to and when (your customer)

Every step of the procedure has a form and personnel responsible have to record the required information on the forms. every form has again a number of details that needs recording. From your storekeeper until customer service that received the order of purchase.

Traceability                                                        

The whole objective is to make a product traceable with this paperwork and for an external auditor to be able, provided all parties involved follow the HACCP system, to actually quickly find the source of an unwanted occurrence. 

This means that when a person becomes ill from eating a pizza in a restaurant with your tomato sauce on it, the source and when and how this happened can quickly be found to curb the possible recurrences of the mishap.

Many, often too many steps in the food supply chain are not traceable. HACCP makes food production safer and with that more people are getting a better understanding of good manufacturing practices.

In part two of this subject I have a look as to how we can apply HACCP in home cooking and the function of a vacuum sealer in the HACCP process.  

www.vacupack.com  www.vacupack.ca 

By: Marinus Hoogendoorn