Raw Meat Storage for Wholesaler Advice Needed Please

Hi all,

 

(please move this post to a more relevant board if the one I've chosen is incorrect!)

 

I'm the Technical & QA Manager of an importer and wholesaler of cheese, cured meat (both currently being stored in separate cold store rooms) and ambient products.

 

My directors are currently toying with the idea of extending our range to raw/uncooked meats.

 

I know that the products will need to be segregated (not stored with the cured meats), but does anyone have any recommendations on how to store these types of products?

 

We are wanting to work towards being BRC accredited next year for the Storage and Distribution standard, so I would like to ideally be set up from the beginning to be able to conform to any storage methods that would be approved by that system.

 

What I'm thinking is purchasing a separate storage fridge with data loggers to monitor the temperatures every ten minutes... beyond this I am stuck.

Could different species be stored in the same fridge?

 

Any advise appreciated! Thanks guys.

 

Danielle

I am not familiar with the BRC standards, but you definitely do not want to store RTE foods and cheeses with raw meat of any kind. The cross contamination risk is to great.

I am assuming that as you're going for The Storage and Distribution that all products will be wrapped / packed and not exposed meats.
Packaged meats can be stored in the same chiller, with spacial separation between them eg on separate racks for different species.. You need to be aware of the different storage temperatures for different species.
Beef, lamb and pork can be stored at 5c or below with a maximum of 7c
Poultry must be stored at 4c or below.
Offal must be stored below 3c.
Minced meats of all species must be stored below 2c.
Also be aware that guidance states that if a meat is vacuum packed with a shelf life of greater than 10 days, then these must be stored at maximum 3c. Ideally you should aim to run your fridge at the lowest temperature that corresponds to legislation for the species you are storing and factor any defrost cycles into this.
Risk assess the temperatures you are achieving over 10 minute intervals and you may find that you can increase the checks to half hourly or hourly.
Hope this helps.

Jacqui

Hi Jacqui,

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Yes all items stored on our premises will be packaged and will not be exposed.

 

These storage temps you have stated, is there a particular piece of legislation or guidance that this relates to (I see you're based in Wales)? I am struggling to find much online other than the "Guidance on Temperature Control Legislation in the United Kingdom" published by the Food Standards Agency... and that doesn't refer specifically to meat products - I might just be looking in all the wrong places!

 

The first product we are looking at is a t-bone steak (beef), but my directors are going to a food show in the next few weeks so having guidance on different species will be useful.

 

We are quite limited for space in the warehouse - most products we deal with are delivered and go out the same day as they are mostly pre-orders from our customers, it's just for any held stock that we may keep on site that we need to make arrangements for, so I was thinking just a commercial standing refrigerator (but I know that they can sometimes be a bit variable in terms of temperature! Obviously depending on the quality of the fridge purchased).

Hi Danielle,

Yes, based in South Wales.
There is a good section on meat on the FSA website. If you go into the business and industry tab there is a section labelled meat. This contains a link to the Meat Industry Guide ( part 2), section 8 is temp control and sections 11 & 12 also cover shelf life and storage. There is also a link from this page to the Vacuum Packed Chilled Food Guidance.

Jacqui

Hi Jacqui,

 

Thanks very much! x

Hi Dantekka,

 

I am the quality assurance manager for a company that are importing frozen and fresh meat. We outsource our storage, but have a close cooperation with the cold store. Let me know if you have more specific questions and I will try to help you!

 

Some ideas:

 

* European legislation EG 853/2005 for outlines the specific hygiene rules for animal products. This include storage temperatures. 

* EG 1169/2011 about food information is really important to know in order to make sure that the meat is correctlly labelled.

* Do you plan to import meat from third countries? This requiries some special knowledge..

* There is no problem to store different types of food in the cold store, as long as you can make sure (and motivate) that there is no risk for contamination. 

 

Best regards Zarina

Dear Zarina,

 

Thank you for your reply and the useful references to the pieces of legislation.

 

We are only intending on purchasing meat from inside the EU (specifically, from Italy into the UK). I haven't had much experience in high risk foods before - my previous experience prior to working here (joined end of Feb) was in food supplements, medicines and organic produce so some of it is all very new to me!

 

Cross-contamination prevention is one of the bigger concerns, which is why I am suggesting a separate storage unit to my directors.

 

For a HACCP hazard analysis - we currently run two plans, one for ambient and one for chilled. Do you think this would require an additional one (for uncooked chilled), or can it just be incorporated into our chilled HACCP plan (which atm is for cheese and charcuterie)?

 

Thanks,

Danielle