Food safety criteria in soup processing
My company owner wants to copy a soup product made in Poland but wants to cook in a kettle and then fill glass jars and cool in the warehouse after filling and capping.
I am leery of this process as he believes this is no different than the process we use for antipasto. I told him the pH is different and the cooling phase time must be monitored.
He doesn't think this needs to be done - The process in Poland uses a pressure vessel to final cook the product in the jars then cools it in a warehouse.
The client doesn't see any risk to processing soup in a kettle ( no pressure vessel) and hot fill in a glass jar - hand seal the caps and invert into a box to cool in warehouse.
the ingredients include tomato paste, chicken broth (from concentrate cubes) and fresh cut vegetables.
Any thoughts on the safety of this product? I believe since this has a higher pH - more neutral it is a high risk for botulism. Shelf life to be determined too.
A few things.
1. Let's determine if the pH is below or above 4.6.
2. Cooling will also be determined by pH.
Let's assume the pH is above 4.6.
The product would need to be cooked in a carefully monitored pressure vessel, such as a retort.
Look up the FDA rules for Low Acid Canning.
thanks for the response - my owner does not want to use a pressure vessel (against my recommendations) and wants to side with the customer to cook and hot pack the jars.
We are in Canada and I have strongly recommended using different equipment - a closed system that can cook and chill the product before filling - however, that requires some capital costs - which we don't have (good ol pandemic)
thanks for the response - my owner does not want to use a pressure vessel (against my recommendations) and wants to side with the customer to cook and hot pack the jars.
We are in Canada and I have strongly recommended using different equipment - a closed system that can cook and chill the product before filling - however, that requires some capital costs - which we don't have (good ol pandemic)
Hi El Molino,
IMO you/your client first need to specify yr quantitative Product/micro. objectives notably with respect to pasteurization/ sterilization and shelf life.
These will help to define yr operational options.