Page 42 - Food & Drink Magazine October 2019

HYGIENE & SAFETY
Dangerous desserts
Ready-to-eat desserts are highly susceptible to contamination risk, but are often not considered a concern. SAI global head of food marketing Maidie Wood explains.
READY-TO-EAT (RTE) products, and their component parts, are considered by food regulators to be a high risk to consumers because they are susceptible to food safety hazards.
What is less often considered a concern in this category are desserts. This may be because most contain a significant amount of sugar, and sugar can be used as a food preservative.
While foods with a high sugar content are generally considered low risk, sugar does not prevent or inhibit the growth of certain pathogens. For instance, particularly present in RTE desserts is the pathogen-based (microbiological) hazard, listeria monocytogenes.
Until 2015, major listeria monocytogenes recalls with RTE products typically involved meat products and vegetables. It is believed that the incidence of listeria monocytogenes in RTE desserts is largely due to these products being eaten without further preparation by the consumer. Other contributing factors may include common misconceptions that listeria monocytogenes, unlike many other pathogens, are not destroyed by sugar or cold.
The most recent FSANZ data is alarming. For the period between 1 January 2009 and
31 December 2018:
• Recalls continued to rise significantly;
• Microbial contamination contributed to 27 per cent of all recalls; and
• Listeria monocytogenes remained the micro- organism most associated with microbial recalls.
It is worthwhile noting here that the second category most
associated of food associated with recalls is ‘dairy products’. This includes dairy desserts. A separate category of ‘ice-cream and edible ices’ comprises an additional category.
Consequently, food manufacturers require robust food safety programs, with adequate and ongoing training, supported by accurate and recorded monitoring, verification
and validation activities.
hygiene practices by food handlers. While good personal hygiene practice is essential in all processing facilities, there is always the exception. For example, a food handler may not even realise they are infectious due to a gastro illness until they have contaminated things they have touched.
While such aspects cannot be controlled, all equipment – especially in high risk areas –
monitoring it is important to swab before cleaning too. This allows you to check what contaminants are actually present. And, of course, always swab after cleaning and sanitisation to check that contaminants have been thoroughly eliminated.
Additionally, supply chain management requires that, by law, dessert manufacturers have proof that their suppliers have controls in place to address all the hazards that the dessert manufacturer itself cannot control. That means, your suppliers need to understand how manufacturers will use the raw ingredient in their finished product, and vice versa.
Consumers regard desserts as a treat – let’s make sure to keep them safe and make calories their only concern. ✷
✷ ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“ Since sugar does not inhibit its growth nor does freezing kill it, listeriosis monocytogenes in RTE desserts can infect anyone who consumes them..”
As listeria monocytogenes are ubiquitous, and primarily enter the food production chain by cross-contamination in production plants, producers must ensure they carefully handle raw materials like raw milk, raw vegetables and fruit.
Their food safety processors must first remove contaminants, then put measures in place to prevent re-contamination during packaging.
Food manufacturers are also susceptible to poor
should be appropriate for use and be of hygienic design and construction, for instance, it should have hands-free taps on hand washing sinks.
Good housekeeping, especially meticulous cleaning and sanitation of equipment after use, is vital in the prevention of contamination. Swabbing is another
good example of a sanitation monitoring technique.
However, remember when doing environmental
42 | Food&Drink business | October 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
Maidie Wood is global
head of food marketing
at SAI Global. Her
expertise is in global
food supply chains,
regulatory compliance and consumer needs across all sectors of the food and beverage industries. She recently led the 26th Asia Pacific (APAC) Food Safety Conference, in Sydney.