Adjusting monitoring from Product Temp to Room Temp
We process and package raw ground and raw not ground product. Currently we monitor product temperatures as a CCP at packaging. We would like to adjust to monitoring the room tempeature. Will these room temperatures need to remain a CCP or can it become a pre-requisite?
We process and package raw ground and raw not ground product. Currently we monitor product temperatures as a CCP at packaging. We would like to adjust to monitoring the room tempeature. Will these room temperatures need to remain a CCP or can it become a pre-requisite?
Dear Jcchaser,
Is this a freezing process ?
Why do you currently monitor product temperatures as a CCP, eg what are the critical limits and how are they justified ?
Rgds / Charles.C
Our Critical Limit is 44 Degree F at pacakageing. We have history that if the room temperature does not go over 50 degree F the product will not go over the 44 degree F. We produce Fresh Meat.
Our Critical Limit is 44 Degree F at pacakageing. We have history that if the room temperature does not go over 50 degree F the product will not go over the 44 degree F. We produce Fresh Meat.
Dear Jcchaser,
Thks for response.
I suppose the production is under jurisdiction of USDA.
So I presume the 44degF is a legal limit, ie regulatory CCP.
Not my product area but i would have thought yr linkage to 50degF may be difficult to consistently validate however perhaps this approach is standard in yr industry so will be acceptable.
have to wait for some related US meat people here to give a more authoritative answer. :smile:
Rgds / Charles.C
Dear Jcchaser
You might be able to use your historical data to statistically validate the relationship between room & product temps. However, since the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics would indicate that the product temp could possibly rise as high as the room temp, it may still be a tough sell to your inspectors...and that does not include the affect of processing activities, which typically increase product temp. SInce you are under USDA regulatory HACCP, you are still going to have to have a CCP somewhere - product or room temp - product temp is obviously going to provide a higher degree of validaton and securlty.
Something my plants have done is to add room temp monitoring as a prerequsite program and reduce the frequency of product temp monitoring.
Dear Charles
Jcchaser can correct me, but I am going to say that his 44F temp CCP is related to the lowest growth temp for Salmonella, as detailed in the 'Tompkins document', widely used in the US as the basis for CCP product temps for pathogen minimum growth temps.