4 replies to this topic

[mohamed gamal]

Greeting all,

                          My new company is a small business and want to get SALSA accreditation.  They do not have proper procedures in place which I am working on it, atm.  The main obstacle is business size and budget restrictions.I’d highly appreciate, if you can help!

Our raw materials are chilled & frozen   chicken and  meat (beef, pork, lamb). Our finished goods are raw meat preps (cuts, diced & minced) no cooking

1.Shelf life:

       1- Is it possible to validate the shelf life based on just the risk assessment without doing lab testing studies?

 

       2- Bearing in mind that chilled raw meat could be used/prepared at any point of its shelf life; i.e. in the first or last days of its original (supplier) shelf life (depending on supplies and consumption/ production rate), What shelf life may be proposed for the following products (P.s. VP= Vacuum packed       HT = High tensile bags ''non-vac pack'')

 

Chilled => trim/cut => HT => chilled

Chilled Meat => Cut & Mince => HT => chilled

    2.a- Can we keep the original shelf life? is it possible to extend

 

Chilled => trim/cut => VP => chilled

    2.c- Can the original life be extended based on using VP?

 

Chilled => trim/cut => HT/ VP => Frozen

Chilled => Cut & Mince => Burger=> HT => Frozen

     2.d- What could be the best shelf life?

 

Frozen => defrost => trim/cut => HT => chilled

Frozen => defrost => trim/cut => VP => chilled

     2.e- What could be the best shelf life?

 

Frozen Offal => defrost => trim/cut => VP => chilled

      2.f- What could be the best shelf life?

 

2. Cleaning & sanitation; again because of budget restrictions, could we do without cleaning validation/verification testing jobs (ATP swabs, environment hygiene lab testing), i.e. depend on manufacturer recommendation and staff training for validation and physical inspection after cleaning for validation?

 

3.Metal detector; could we do without metal detection, especially that most of work is done by using knives while mincer is used only for 2 items (minced meat & burger).

 

Thanks in advance !

[Scampi]

I don't know about SALSA, but I do know meat

 

You cannot use risk assessments for shelf life..........they are 2 separate and distinct items.

 

Yes, shelf life studies are expensive (relatively) but better to find out now if current practices need to change in order to get more life out of your finished goods.

 

Frozen meat vac pac probably has a shelf of 12 months but that's only if it's processed under really good GMPs and gets BLAST at -25C and held under 18C in a storage freezer.

 

Defrosted meat is probably going to have a MAX shelf of 5 days..........as soon as the thaw process begins, the degradation does too. And in most countries, previously frozen has to be declared on the label regardless of retail or further processing use

 

I wouldn't be handling defrost offal at all.............unless they've gone into an antimicrobial solution post cleaning and pre chilling you'll get 2 days tops

Do you actually have a customer base for previously frozen thawed trim????  Usually those customers thaw themselves, and use it still partially frozen to maintain good temps in emulsified meats

 

I know all of this is incredibly expensive, but so is the finished good your producing. At previous post we were spending about $13k/week on shelf life because our in house lab kept getting delayed (sending samples everyday *8 types)

 

The 3most important factors for shelf in meat are A) general sanitation including processing employees and B) how rapidly the meat is chilled/frozen C) the temperature it's stored at once completely frozen

 

The vac pak only prevents the formation of large ice crystals in the meat-----so it's just a QUALITY issue, not a food safety issue

[Charles.C]

Greeting all,

                          My new company is a small business and want to get SALSA accreditation.  They do not have proper procedures in place which I am working on it, atm.  The main obstacle is business size and budget restrictions.I’d highly appreciate, if you can help!

Our raw materials are chilled & frozen   chicken and  meat (beef, pork, lamb). Our finished goods are raw meat preps (cuts, diced & minced) no cooking

1.Shelf life:

       1- Is it possible to validate the shelf life based on just the risk assessment without doing lab testing studies?

 

       2- Bearing in mind that chilled raw meat could be used/prepared at any point of its shelf life; i.e. in the first or last days of its original (supplier) shelf life (depending on supplies and consumption/ production rate), What shelf life may be proposed for the following products (P.s. VP= Vacuum packed       HT = High tensile bags ''non-vac pack'')

 

Chilled => trim/cut => HT => chilled

Chilled Meat => Cut & Mince => HT => chilled

    2.a- Can we keep the original shelf life? is it possible to extend

 

Chilled => trim/cut => VP => chilled

    2.c- Can the original life be extended based on using VP?

 

Chilled => trim/cut => HT/ VP => Frozen

Chilled => Cut & Mince => Burger=> HT => Frozen

     2.d- What could be the best shelf life?

 

Frozen => defrost => trim/cut => HT => chilled

Frozen => defrost => trim/cut => VP => chilled

     2.e- What could be the best shelf life?

 

Frozen Offal => defrost => trim/cut => VP => chilled

      2.f- What could be the best shelf life?

 

2. Cleaning & sanitation; again because of budget restrictions, could we do without cleaning validation/verification testing jobs (ATP swabs, environment hygiene lab testing), i.e. depend on manufacturer recommendation and staff training for validation and physical inspection after cleaning for validation?

 

3.Metal detector; could we do without metal detection, especially that most of work is done by using knives while mincer is used only for 2 items (minced meat & burger).

 

Thanks in advance !

 

Hi Jimmy-Mo,

 

Unfortunately not many people posting here use Salsa since it is not intended to be GFSI recognised. It is regarded as an alternative, UK-oriented, "lower" level standard, to act as ,say, a stepping stone for BRC.

 

Nonetheless it is well designed IMO for its objective. You can find a large amount of examples/info on its requirements from the website.

 

Frankly I suggest you need a consultant.

[mohamed gamal]

Thanks Scampi

Thanks Charles

I appreciate your kind replies 

[Bonnie Joplin]

Hi Jimmy-Mo

 

SALSA can only approve businesses who are UK based SME Food and Drink Manufacturers. 

 

If you meet this criteria, as a starting point, I suggest you download the SALSA Standard (it's free if you register on the website www.salsafood.co.uk) and use as an internal audit to check compliance. 

 

If you have any specific questions after you have done this, then you can either call or email and we'll be happy to help. There is a range of additional support available to help members achieve approval and prepare for audit. 

 

Please let me know if you have any further questions

 

Thanks

Bonnie 

Edited by Simon, 07 November 2018 - 04:39 PM.
Removed contact details