8 replies to this topic

[Kelly S]

We currently receive 10lt pails of of Coleslaw Dressing (basically a mayonnaise). We have only recently started temping the product upon arrival and the temperature today was 9.6 Celsius. This product states on both the label and the product specification that it is to be stored below 5 Celsius in both it's opened and unopened state. It also has an unopened shelf life of 60 days.

 

I know the product is hot filled due to the condensation on the lid of the pail when opened - I need to follow up with our supplier as to what temperature they achieve. I'm assuming they aren't inverting the product due to the same condensation and lack of product on the lid.

 

My question is this. Assuming that the product is heated to the 85-90 Celsius mark and filled above 65 Celsius, what time frame should the product be allowed cool in? I know that if the product is shelf stable then air cooling the filled containers is fine but with the product being a keep chilled product I'm concerned that they should be adhering to the 2/4 hour rule.

 

Any ideas?

[Charles.C]

Dear Wyldice,

 

I suspect this is a variation on a very old "chestnut"

 

60 days at ambient or ? and why (eg non-safety factors, eg yucky appearance )?  - "That is the Question".

 

Assuming the temperature was part of a formal contract, i would have thought most companies would simply have blocked the incoming lot.

This would presumably rapidly yield an (anguished) supplier answer to yr technical query.

 

IMEX the formula of commercial mayonnaise usually defines the ambient safety stability but whether exceptions can occur, particularly for "quality", dunno. need a book on food science and some composition data like pH etc + a cookbook maybe

 

Rgds / Charles.C

 

PS - never seen "temping" before. Aussie vernacular is ingenious.

 

added -

 shelf-stable-acid-preserved-foods.pdf   100.57KB   30 downloads

 

http://www.health.st...tore/store.html

 

added(2) -

 

According to The Food Marketing Institute (http://www.fmi.org/c...er/brochure.htm):

Refrigerate after opening.

The Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement (http://www.griffin.p...Pages/Mayo.html) says that regular mayo has enough vinegar in it to stall salmonella groth and may help preserve other foods when mixed in (like chicken salad), but they also say:

Mayonaise will not maintain its acidity level very well over time when mixed with other less acid foods like meats, poultry, eggs or potatoes," she said. "Bacteria can begin to multiply if these foods are allowed to remain between 40 and 140 degrees F. Always keep salads such as these at refrigerator temperature.

For safety and the best quality, Harrison said, refrigerate the mayonnaise, too.

The more times you open the jar and remove some of the product, the more chances there are for moisture, food particles or mold spores to enter the mayonaise. This could cause changes in the mayonnaise itself, especially at room temperature.

Using a clean knife or spoon each time, she said, will make food particles less likely to get into the jar.

Clearly, cross-contamination is a concern. The implication is that with regular useage, just double-dipping a knife into the mayo jar may be enough to introduce some contaminant that may encourage the mayo to spoil. Sure, if your kitchen is so clean that you can make microchips in it then your mayo is probably safe. But most kitchens are teaming with cooties and the mayo jar is a virtual petri dish.

 

http://boards.straig...hp/t-79006.html

 

added(3) -

http://en.wikipedia....Talk:Mayonnaise

(scroll down half-way to "refrigerate ???")

[SUSHIL]

Hello Wyldice,

        .Mayonnaise in Glass bottles is shelf stable up to 1 year and has acidic pH below 4. Mayonnaise in Coleslaw if hot filled will destabilise Mayonnaise (i.e. Mayonnaise will have a seperation of oil if heated above 40 degreees and if frozen ).

I think the vegetables in colesaw like cabbage ,carrots are pickled and mixed with mayonnaise and packed.Since it has vinegar will store safely for few months if Unopened.

[Charles.C]

Hello Wyldice,

        .Mayonnaise in Glass bottles is shelf stable up to 1 year and has acidic pH below 4. Mayonnaise in Coleslaw if hot filled will destabilise Mayonnaise (i.e. Mayonnaise will have a seperation of oil if heated above 40 degreees and if frozen ).

I think the vegetables in colesaw like cabbage ,carrots are pickled and mixed with mayonnaise and packed.Since it has vinegar will store safely for few months if Unopened.

 

Dear Sushil,

 

Do you have a reference for the above 1 year ? (unopened presumably), refrigerated ?

 

So far I have seen 3months, 6 months for non-specific mayonnaises plus one article opined that the time was selected  so as for convenience of stock rotation   . But none were validated.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[Snookie]

the product upon arrival and the temperature today was 9.6 Celsius. This product states on both the label and the product specification that it is to be stored below 5 Celsius in both it's opened and unopened state.

 

Any ideas?

 

Shelf life aside.  The product label has a temperature range and the product is clearly outside of that.    The product should not ship until it is in the proper temperature range and is there anything to tell you how long it has been out of temperature range? Therefore, any liability  for the product would I think fall on your company. 

[SUSHIL]

Hello Charles,

      You can go to any super market and see the bottles for shelf life of Hellman's ,Kraft,Heinz, etc .Though I dont have validation data

for these Mayonnaise bottles .

you can visit website for shelf life of Hellmans mayonnaise -http://www.unileverf...onnaise-2L.html

 

or visit the website-http://onlinelibrary...0093.x/abstract

Edited by SUSHIL, 17 July 2014 - 05:50 PM.

[Charles.C]

Hello Charles,

      You can go to any super market and see the bottles for shelf life of Hellman's ,Kraft,Heinz, etc .Though I dont have validation data

for these Mayonnaise bottles .

you can visit website for shelf life of Hellmans mayonnaise -http://www.unileverf...onnaise-2L.html

 

or visit the website-http://onlinelibrary...0093.x/abstract

Dear Sushil,

 

Thanks for the above. For Hellmans, not quite clear whether the 11 months assumes refrigeration or not. It appears that the labelling may have undergone changes with time, eg compare the next two links -

 

http://chowhound.cho...m/topics/452512

http://whatneedsrefr...g.blogspot.com/

 

I deduce from abstract of yr second link that brandX at "optimum" temp. has shelf-life  of 6months. Presumably organoleptic based.

 

There is obviously a large range of choices, eg compare this one - 

 

http://shelflifeadvi...ents/mayonnaise

(I think the majority of refs state that storing unopened at ambient is fine, as is in my supermarket)

 

This link suggests one possible reason for the wide range - 

http://ochef.com/340.htm

 

@ WyldIce - Unfortunately the above info. may not help very much as far as the OP is concerned. A refrigerated, unopened, shelf life of 60days now appears very short and one wonders why. (Whether this logic also correlates to a lack of ambient stability is unclear).  IMO further suggests  that a temperature of 9.6degC may, again for some unknown reason, perhaps composition, be significant. The first question for the supplier is maybe why so short as 60 days.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[Kelly S]

 

PS - never seen "temping" before. Aussie vernacular is ingenious.

 

   lol Thanks 

 

Shelf life aside.  The product label has a temperature range and the product is clearly outside of that.    The product should not ship until it is in the proper temperature range and is there anything to tell you how long it has been out of temperature range? Therefore, any liability  for the product would I think fall on your company. 

 

Absolutely, I completely agree. I am unfortunately in the position of having a non-Quality minded person in a position higher than mine who will override me if I don't have all my information ready to go and while you would think that the storage statement on the label would help me reject this he feels it only applies to storage temp, not product temp as well    It's painful. 

 

@ WyldIce - Unfortunately the above info. may not help very much as far as the OP is concerned. A refrigerated, unopened, shelf life of 60days now appears very short and one wonders why. (Whether this logic also correlates to a lack of ambient stability is unclear).  IMO further suggests  that a temperature of 9.6degC may, again for some unknown reason, perhaps composition, be significant. The first question for the supplier is maybe why so short as 60 days.

 

Thanks for the all the feedback, it's given me a lot to think about, and while I'm sorry to say that none of this hasn't actually answered my question it has given me a lot more to go to our supplier about  

[Snookie]

 

Absolutely, I completely agree. I am unfortunately in the position of having a non-Quality minded person in a position higher than mine who will override me if I don't have all my information ready to go and while you would think that the storage statement on the label would help me reject this he feels it only applies to storage temp, not product temp as well    It's painful. 

 

Understand that dilemma all too well. 

 

 

@ WyldIce - Unfortunately the above info. may not help very much as far as the OP is concerned. A refrigerated, unopened, shelf life of 60days now appears very short and one wonders why. (Whether this logic also correlates to a lack of ambient stability is unclear).  IMO further suggests  that a temperature of 9.6degC may, again for some unknown reason, perhaps composition, be significant. The first question for the supplier is maybe why so short as 60 days.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

 

I have seen some companies use a short life based on perception rather its actual shelf life.  There feeling is that if the actual shelf life is 2 years and they use that then the people won't buy because its not fresh.  Whereas they put 6 months, it is as seen as recent or fresh.  While the qualities and the safety don't change they feel the shorter shelf life sells more product. 

 

But what the reasoning is behind the short shelf life only the supplier knows.