Hot liquids in vacuum bags?
Hi all,
Is it recommendable to pack hot liquids like soups, sauces in vacuum bags at 80C? If not, what should I be looking out for in terms of safety, quality? We’re not vacuum packing it, just normal sealing and leaving a bit of airspace above the soups to allow hot air expansion.
Attached file #1 is the product spec of vacuum bag.
Attached file #2 is the COA but I don't quite understand why there's a microcount for vacuum bag packaging ? It's not a food item but packaging....so I found it odd to conduct micro test on non-food, non-living items.
Attached Files
Well I certainly wouldn't use those bags. They're tested to 700 for 2 hours, so your fill temp of 800 would cause problems. There are bags that will withstand higher temperatures, and I have used them in the past, so it can be done. In my case we were filling with porridge and re-heating in a bath, so we needed to withstand temperatures of 1000 for a period of time.
You get a micro analysis to show that your bags are not contaminated at the point of testing/manufacture.
Well I certainly wouldn't use those bags. They're tested to 700 for 2 hours, so your fill temp of 800 would cause problems. There are bags that will withstand higher temperatures, and I have used them in the past, so it can be done. In my case we were filling with porridge and re-heating in a bath, so we needed to withstand temperatures of 1000 for a period of time.
You get a micro analysis to show that your bags are not contaminated at the point of testing/manufacture.
Hi BrummyJim,
was thinking the same too but I spoke to the supplier and he said that a 10C difference in temperature wouldn't make any difference and is still safe to be use although they have not sent me any migration data to support that claim.
For your case of reheating frozen porridge in a hot water bath, how do you decide the maximum hour it can withstand 100C before the plastic starts leeching/migrating out?
Ah, I get it now - the micro is to prove that it was manufactured in aseptic conditions. Silly me.
I think you need to consider the integrity of the bags as well as leeching/migration. How sure can you be that the temperature increase won't cause the bags to become more brittle/fragile? I would check with the manufacturer as they may not have tested at higher temperatures.
The porridge was chilled, so time in the bath was expected to be <2 hours. It was served for breakfast in cafes in London - they found it too difficult to make it themselves!