Microbiological limits for Packaging Material
Hello!
I work with a factory that produces synthetic corks for wine. We have been discussing if there is any limit for mesophiles and E. coli in the product, prior to use.
Do you know of any guidelines regarding this matter?
Thank you!
Generally unless it's a product where generic E. coli is unavoidable (raw meats, sprouts), in general FS standards don't permit any detectable E. coli, it's an easy enough pathogen to avoid/kill with minimal process control.
Given that spoilage ruins wine, I would say they should be nearly sterile at the point of use but not necessarily from the manufacturer. It looks like spoilage from corks is fairly common and most wine home brewers treat their corks before use.
My guess is that the manufacturers will either see you indicate on your packaging whether the corks are sanitized and ready for use, or else they put them through their own process.
Hello FurFarmandFork!
Thank you for your insight. The natural cork maufacturers tend to ship the corks in a SO2 protective atmosphere, so that moulds do not grow, and as far as I know, the wine bottlers do not sanitize the corks prior to bottling.
I did some research and found this Fraunhoffer Institute doc with some guidelines for food packaging.
Regards,
Filipe
Hello FurFarmandFork!
Thank you for your insight. The natural cork maufacturers tend to ship the corks in a SO2 protective atmosphere, so that moulds do not grow, and as far as I know, the wine bottlers do not sanitize the corks prior to bottling.
I did some research and found this Fraunhoffer Institute doc with some guidelines for food packaging.
Regards,
Filipe
Hi Filipe,
SO2 system sounds distinctly user-unfriendly.
I anticipate the cork is made via a high-temperature process.
So likely to be sterile similar plastic bags.
i assume yr GHP/GMP aims to keep it that way, approximately. Do you test it ?
Some micro.Packaging limits (including IIRC Fraunhofer) discussed here -
http://www.ifsqn.com...d-for-packaging
(also mentions plastics)
PS - slightly OT but more comments on plastic film here -