Determine test limits for TPC, E. coli, coliform and Yeast/Mold
I am working in a low risk Food Manufacturing Company mixing powdered ingredients in a Blender and packing it as a Green Tea Lattes or Green Tea Mints by pressing the mixed products using tablet press.
I am have some difficulty in determining the upper limit for our products test results such as TPC, E. coli, Coliform and Yeast/Mold. Since we do not know the appropriate limit for our products, we determine the limits for TPC, Coliform and Yeast/Mold to be < 10 cfu/gm, while the E. Coli must be Negative. Since some of our raw materials have a rather high test results, we hardly able to get the test results that we want.
Is there a specific upper limit for green tea mints and lattes for those tests? or how can we determine the limits for them ?
I still don't have much experience in this field of work (Quality Control and Food Safety) so if you can help me because I can't find the answers in the internet.
Thank you,
I am working in a low risk Food Manufacturing Company mixing powdered ingredients in a Blender and packing it as a Green Tea Lattes or Green Tea Mints by pressing the mixed products using tablet press.
I am have some difficulty in determining the upper limit for our products test results such as TPC, E. coli, Coliform and Yeast/Mold. Since we do not know the appropriate limit for our products, we determine the limits for TPC, Coliform and Yeast/Mold to be < 10 cfu/gm, while the E. Coli must be Negative. Since some of our raw materials have a rather high test results, we hardly able to get the test results that we want.
Is there a specific upper limit for green tea mints and lattes for those tests? or how can we determine the limits for them ?
I still don't have much experience in this field of work (Quality Control and Food Safety) so if you can help me because I can't find the answers in the internet.
Thank you,
Hi senchanaturals,
Tea not my area so please correct if following mismatched.
See this post -
http://www.ifsqn.com...ea/#entry112605
The specs given seem very different to yr numbers. But perhaps it's Apples and Oranges ?
Hi senchanaturals,
Tea not my area so please correct if following mismatched.
See this post -
http://www.ifsqn.com...ea/#entry112605
The specs given seem very different to yr numbers. But perhaps it's Apples and Oranges ?
Hi Charles,
Thank you for your input. Yes, the tea mention in the article is one of our raw materials, which gives a rather high limit. We try to find a government regulation that specify the appropriate limits for our products but we cannot find it.
May I ask the source of the table attached in the mentioned post?
thank you,
senchanaturals
Since these products are considered ready to eat you probably don't want to go off of raw tea limit levels since those are determined with the thinking that the tea leaves will see further processing (hot/boiling water). I think you might want to go the mint/candy route and see if you can find control limits that are used in those fields.
Hi Charles,
Thank you for your input. Yes, the tea mention in the article is one of our raw materials, which gives a rather high limit. We try to find a government regulation that specify the appropriate limits for our products but we cannot find it.
May I ask the source of the table attached in the mentioned post?
thank you,
senchanaturals
Hi senchanaturals,
The table probably came from here -
Draft Standard - instant tea specification.pdf 34.82KB 35 downloads
You won't find any limits in the FDA CFR's. What you need to do is a risk assessment and determine the limits based on standards your set for your operation and for the food type. You need to consider the raw materials, process, and the end use of the product/food. It's a lot of work to do it right, but you will have done it right and can have a sense of security around that.
If you don't have anyone in-house who is capable of this, you may consider using a consultant or a third-party laboratory to assist. The larger third-party labs have technical experts that can help you come up with micro standards based on the raw materials, process, and end use of the product.
Good luck!