4 replies to this topic

[SofiaVV]

Dear Colleagues,

 

I´m working to get BRC issue 8 certified. We are manufacturing raw cholate, protein and date bars. The raw material for raw chocolate comes as raw chocolate nibs, cacao butter and cacao mass. All of these ingredients are analysed for salmonella by the supplier. In adittion we analyse each container of nibs for salmonella on our site. The raw chocolate is tempered and molded in separate room from the other bars (dates and protein bars), but ate the moment there is no requirement to change clothes when moving between raw chocolate room to other bar manufacturing room. There is no pathogen killing step in the process at our site.

The area of manufacturing raw cholate and other bars is at the moment spesified as low risk (I refer the  BRC deciosion making tree).  

 

The question is: from this perspective should the raw chocolate manufacturing room be classified as ”Ambien high care” -area?

 

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[BLESSED KOOMSON]

This is an interesting topic. Let me ask, is  your input(raw material) reception point separated from the preparation area? At least there should be zoning in place to separate raw area  from clean area  so that if clean area is an isolated place, there would not be the need to change uniforms but good hygiene rules needs to be observed.

 

 

The question is: from this perspective should the raw chocolate manufacturing room be classified as ”Ambien high care” -area? To answer this question what is the storage temperature in that room. remember from BRC version 8, Ambient high care areas are areas above 5 degree Celsius.

 

You need to also subject that area to the decision tree of which i think you would be able to find the right answers.

 

 

I just completed my BRC version 8 for a cocoa factory. You can contact me so we discuss more xxxxxxxx

 

thank you.

 

Blessed,

Edited by Charles.C, 23 January 2020 - 08:19 PM.
email deleted

[FurFarmandFork]

Great example.

 

If you are already controlling the food safety risk in your raw materials, and there isn't an "intervention" step between your raw and finished products (e.g. a kill step with heat or other method, a wash step, a dehydration step, etc.), then you don't really have a significant risk difference between your raw and finished areas.  If you didn't do anything to deal with known hazards, then cross contamination doesn't make sense as a risk factor since there's no separation for pre-and post treatment. I don't believe that chocolate tempering is typically considered a microbial intervention. But roasting of your nibs might if that happens at your facility.

 

Comes down to your food safety plan, if no known hazards are significantly minimized between the receipt of your materials and packaging of final product, segregation, while not a bad thing, shouldn't be integral to your environmental controls. However, if your final product is ready-to-eat, it would be an opportunity to contaminate at any point in your process, making the entire facility a potential high care area, but still not segregated like you described.

 

BRC expert needs to weigh in.

Edited by FurFarmandFork, 23 January 2020 - 05:54 PM.

[Charles.C]

Dear Colleagues,

 

I´m working to get BRC issue 8 certified. We are manufacturing raw cholate, protein and date bars. The raw material for raw chocolate comes as raw chocolate nibs, cacao butter and cacao mass. All of these ingredients are analysed for salmonella by the supplier. In adittion we analyse each container of nibs for salmonella on our site. The raw chocolate is tempered and molded in separate room from the other bars (dates and protein bars), but ate the moment there is no requirement to change clothes when moving between raw chocolate room to other bar manufacturing room. There is no pathogen killing step in the process at our site.

The area of manufacturing raw cholate and other bars is at the moment spesified as low risk (I refer the  BRC deciosion making tree).  

 

The question is: from this perspective should the raw chocolate manufacturing room be classified as ”Ambien high care” -area?

 

Thank you so much in advance!

 

Hi sofia,

 

I'm intrigued by the terminology "raw chocolate". 

 

Does this mean not RTE ?

 

If so, Is there another RTE chocolate which is "not raw" ?

[pHruit]

The question is: from this perspective should the raw chocolate manufacturing room be classified as ”Ambien high care” -area?

BRC has relatively specific ideas about what "high care", "high risk" and "ambient high care" are - you'll need to consider your product/process in the context of the details in Appendix II of the standard.
It does sound like you may fall into the ambient high care category from a brief reading - notwithstanding the absence of something to fulfil the requirement that "the production process includes a process step which removed or reduces the pathogen", it seems that the bracketed detail, "where there is no effective step it is assumed that any risk associated with the raw material is controlled as part of the raw material risk assessment", could reasonably apply.