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[praegustator]

I have been asked to review a HACCP plan and it has been suggested to me that raw maize could pose a micro risk to the popped corn during popcorn manufacture.

The water activity of both raw and popped corn is extremely low, however could there be a risk? Raw maize afterall could be contaminated in the field. What is the likelihood that this would result in signifiant micro cross contamination in the kettle or after popping when both materials are handled in close proximity?

[Charles.C]

I have been asked to review a HACCP plan and it has been suggested to me that raw maize could pose a micro risk to the popped corn during popcorn manufacture.

The water activity of both raw and popped corn is extremely low, however could there be a risk? Raw maize afterall could be contaminated in the field. What is the likelihood that this would result in signifiant micro cross contamination in the kettle or after popping when both materials are handled in close proximity?

Dear praegustator,

Not my product area but it presumably depends on the hygiene control within the corn's growing area and it's subsequent harvesting process. As you say, raw materials from the "field" may exhibit a variety of well-known BCPA pathogenic contaminations. In traditional HACCP an appropriate documented COA or evidence of a satisfactory GAP assessment is a typical minimum expectation if a "CCP" is imposed at reception prior to any post-harvesting processes. Some typical "field" suspects are Salmonella, S.aureus, L.mono.., E.coli O157, B.cereus to name but a few.
Of course the high temperature associated with the popping step is relevant also (see below).

Here is a sample commercial specification which presumably illustrates some of the (perceived) potential risks for the specific product.
 pp1 - Popcorn specification 2011.pdf   203.29KB   209 downloads

The NZ report attached includes an assessment of the consequences of an occurrence of (one) Salmonella species in popcorn. The conclusion was that "this research indicates that only a high level of raw product contamination would pose a risk to consumers."
 pp2 - risk profile 2010 salmonella-in-cereals.pdf   819.27KB   176 downloads
(see pg 14)
Analyses for other microbial species (and Salmonella variants) would require consideration of their relative D values however the temperature / time conditions (eg final core temp.110degC/4min) mentioned in pp2 look adequate to achieve high reductions of the usual vegetative microbial pathogens (assuming the coldest location was determined).

Nonetheless recalls of popcorn products due to Listeria have occurred in USA although the cases I noticed did not specifically implicate the corn material itself, eg

http://www.stopfoodb...roducts-e-c-0#6

There is a substantial literature on general hazards associated with this product on the net, some related links are added below with a key to my brief comments at right of individual links.

http://www.ifsqn.com...limits-popcorn/ i1/P

http://cofarmtomarke...onfectionaries/ reg/USA

http://www.ehow.com/...orn-safety.html i1/CP, i2/C,i3/C

http://grist.org/art...-line-iffy-pop/ i2/ C


http://blog.onespota...lergy-friendly/ i1/ “A”, A

http://www.popcorn.o...02/Default.aspx i1/P

http://vitals.nbcnew...teria-risk?lite pr?/B

http://www.the-glute...en.html#popcorn i1/ “A”


BCPA = (Hazard types): B = biological, C = chemical, P = physical, A = allergenic, “A” = “allergenic”/ intolerance
i = input, i1 = corn, i2 = chemical ingredients, i3= packaging
pr = process
reg = regulatory

Rgds / Charles.C

PS - @ praegustator. Sorry, i forgot to answer yr query on raw/cooked cross-contamination. I am not familiar with the equipment used in commercial production of popcorn however the usual method for preventing cross-contamination for RTE products is via a physical barrier between raw / cooked materials, separation of personnel, transfer equipment etc.