Temperature standards for receiving frozen raw meat

Hi all,

We are RTE meat processing plant. Regarding the receiving of Frozen raw Beef/Pork Meat, could anyone help to throw me any references/regulations of receiving temperature standards? Does it have to be < -18C? Our previous QA Manager have set it for Frozen raw Beef/Pork between -3C and -30C for receiving. But I cannot find any reference or validation regarding to this, can someone help out?

Regards,

May

Hello,

Under SQF it states " Appropriate temperature requirements for chilled food range between 0 – 4°C (32 – 40°F) and for frozen foods ≤ -18°C (≤ 0°F)".

Not sure if you're SQF or not but I hope this gives you some guidance or a better idea?

Jenna

I believe the temp requirement is the conveyance not the product temperature

From FSEP:

The conveyances used to transport food to and from your establishment do not present a risk of contamination to a food and protect the food from contamination from other food, dust, pests and the exterior environment. For example, the conveyances:

• keep refrigerated food at a temperature between 0°C and 4°C and frozen food at −18°C or less

In all my previous and current company, we never take product temp for frozen foods, the limit is that it should be hard frozen and no sign of thawing. However, we monitor the carrier / reefer temp and record ensuring it is less than -18C.

The temperature standard for receiving frozen raw meat is any temperature above -18 degrees Celsius, however critical must not be less that -15 degrees Celsius for 2 hours. 

I was unable to find any Canadian references to specific temperature requirements for checks of receiving frozen meat.

(Post 3's quote could be interpreted as "receiving")

There are various refs which mention <= -18degC for receiving and storing.

There are refs for storing at <= -12degC

afaik, from a purely safety POV, there is no specific justification for selecting <= -18degC as compared to say, -16, -17 degC.

Some haccp plans set a critical limit of <= -12degC for freezing foods.

Hi,

Best possible temperature for receiving and storage of frozen items should be bellow -18C to that most of the bacteria can survive but not grow and chilled and thawed items can store and received on 0-4C that most of the bacteria can survive but not multiply.

Thanks

EC

 

Hi,

 

Best possible temperature for receiving and storage of frozen items should be bellow -18C to that most of the bacteria can survive but not grow and chilled and thawed items can store and received on 0-4C that most of the bacteria can survive but not multiply.

 

Thanks

EC

 

Hi EC,

Thks yr input.

Might note that afaik very few bacteria grow below -12 degC also.

I would also challenge the statement in both yr attachments that (all?) "bacteria multiply rapidly" anywhere  in the range 4-60 degC.

 

Hi,

 

Best possible temperature for receiving and storage of frozen items should be bellow -18C to that most of the bacteria can survive but not grow and chilled and thawed items can store and received on 0-4C that most of the bacteria can survive but not multiply.

 

Thanks

EC

 

Thanks for your input. My confusion is that the temperature standards in the chart referring to storage environment temperature or actual product temperature.

Thanks for your input. My confusion is that the temperature standards in the chart referring to storage environment temperature or actual product temperature.

One typical (non-destructive) monitoring Procedure (eg Codex) measures the external contact temperature of adjacent cartons of product. This parallels the product temperature.

Other methods use data loggers at various locations to monitor the transport environment.

Regardless, IMEX receiving specifications more commonly intend to reference the actual product core  temperature but this (obviously) involves "interference" hence the alternative approaches.

Much semantics. :smile:

I cannot find a standard for the actual temp of product coming in for frozen foods but I assume it should be around -18C which is similar to the required storage temp. Similar to what Julius256 mentioned. I think your original standard of -3C to -30C is a pretty large range.

This is apparently the (historical) basis for the choice of -18degC  (0degF) as a typical frozen product temperature specification -

https://blog.liebher...er-temperature/

(I guess a lot of the content may be summarised as "Quality/Shelf Life" from a Product POV)

This is FDA's opinion on the microbiological (safety) aspect -

Foods are microbiologically stable when held at temperatures below 17.6 deg F  (-8 deg C). During frozen storage, populations of viable microorganisms in most foods will decrease; however, some microorganisms remain viable for long periods of time during frozen storage. Most viruses, bacterial spores, and some bacterial vegetative cells survive freezing unchanged. Some of the other microorganisms are sensitive to the freezing and thawing process (i.e.,freezing, frozen storage, or thawing). Since multi-celled organisms (such as parasitic protozoa, nematodes, and trematodes) are generally more sensitive to low temperatures than are bacteria; freezing and frozen storage are good methods for killing these organisms in various foods. This is especially important if consumers are likely to eat the foods raw or undercooked.  See Kennedy (2003) and Fellows (2009b) for a detailed review on the use of freezing technologies in the preservation of foods.

 

Hi Charles can you supply that FDA reference link? Very useful information from the food safety perspective. Thanks!

Here is source -

FDA hazard analysis, preventive controls draft guidance,.pdf   2.17MB   117 downloads

(Pg 20)