Raw Material Sampling for Fresh Produce Fruit
Hello IFSQN,
I need some guidance and a pick on your experience.
Question:
When receiving RTE fresh produce and fruit, Where do you sample your raw materials?
1. During Receiving?
2. After the clean and process?
Must of the raw materials come from the field. Example: (Lettuce, carrots, blueberries, Cantelopes)
I am kind new in this area and I am developing a Product Sampling program and Environmental Monitoring Program for Pathogens and chemicals.
Thank you in advance.
Do you mean micro sampling?
I would sample it at both stages but focus more on sampling after cleaning and processing (assuming this is the last point before entering commerce).
Sampling it when you receive can help strengthen your supplier approval program.
Hello IFSQN,
I need some guidance and a pick on your experience.
Question:
When receiving RTE fresh produce and fruit, Where do you sample your raw materials?
1. During Receiving?
2. After the clean and process?
Must of the raw materials come from the field. Example: (Lettuce, carrots, blueberries, Cantelopes)
I am kind new in this area and I am developing a Product Sampling program and Environmental Monitoring Program for Pathogens and chemicals.
Thank you in advance.
Hi kellio,
It relates to (contractual?) accceptance/rejection/informative specifications.
For raw materials Initial sampling ( to determine ???) is typically on the lot at reception. Procedures (for ?) this usually relate to the presentation form of the "lot" ,eg (a) a pile of fruit in a pick-up or (b) packed/sub/packed in cartons or ????
(Obviously compliance to a finished product specification will be done at the end of process.)
IIRC a few typical procedures for (a) have been posted here before which i can search for if relevant.
A formal statistical procedure depends on what you want to measure, eg specification, how acuurate (contract?) you want the result, resources etc.
Yes is for micros. The Operation has their own approved suppliers. However there is no testing upon receiving as part of the supplier approval program.
Yes is for micros. The Operation has their own approved suppliers. However there is no testing upon receiving as part of the supplier approval program.
Hi Kellio,
Offhand, a typical sampling approach is to confirm compliance with yr micro. specification such as nmMc where n is usually (random) 5.
The specific sampling procedure may relate to "Presentation". (see Post 3)
Some texts consider sampling/testing raw fruits for micro. may be pointless direct from the field. But may depend on what you do next, eg sold as RTE ?
Dear Kellio,
In addition to the information of the other members, I would like to explain my vision on how I would handle this.
You gave 4 examples, which is good to have an idea about the products. The thing is, that they are totally different for your sampling plan. So it may be an advice to divide your products in different groups and develop sampling plans per group. Hereunder you find an explanation, which can be more nuanced according to the context:
"Examples: (Lettuce, carrots, blueberries, Canteloupes)"
Lettuce: Comes from close to the ground. It's washed and consumed in a raw form. There are probably ground bacteria, such as Listeria and Enterobacteriaceae (often the type Pantoea agglomerans) on it. Furthermore, you have to note which fertilizers were used (valid for all the examples) (to avoid contamination with the dangerous pathogens like E-Coli 0157 and Salmonella). You can also monitor that hygienic conditions were applied, during the cultivation (= verification of supplier audit and questionnaire)
.
Carrots: Grow in the ground, so from a microbiological perspective worse than lettuce. What you need to look at is whether they are consumed raw or cooked?
Blueberries: Characteristically high numbers of yeasts. These fruits are not peeled and can be consumed raw. So also important there is to look after an eventual contamination during harvest, particularly Enterobacteriaceae. As above, you need to know what is done at the cultivator, whether good hygienic conditions (irrigation water, hands touching the fruits and cleanliness of the crates) are respected. What you do at your incoming goods control is to monitor this.
Cantaloupes: A fruit which grows nearby the ground. But, in contrast to the previous examples, this fruit is peeled. Although that the peel is not consumed, you have to be sure, that there are no pathogens on the peel, which can contaminate the inside of the fruit.
I hope that the above gives you an idea on how to build up your sampling plan. It's mainly looking to the origin of your raw materials (with its risks in the chain), the process and the intended use of the final product and combining this with microbiological knowledge.
Kind regards,
Gerard Heerkens
You may find this helpful. It is also important to know if working with cantaloupes that that due to the biofilms on surface you may always have some possibility of Salmonella that you can't get rid of. Which is why temperature control on melons is so critical. In US cut melons are considered potentially hazardous food.