Determining requirement to conduct analytical tests on a lot basis?
Hi all, currently we are not doing analytical testing on each lot. It is more on a monthly basis. We are relatively small. Run one shift a day. We have never been question. We make granola bites. (Not yet certified SQF). The bites have oats, pasteurized liquid eggs, corn flour etc. We review all CoA's for compliance in negative results/ or within spec. Our water activity it 0.2 or sometime even undetectable. We have never had a positive Salmonella result. We are always way above temp on our critical limit. Do we need to conduct analytical tests daily or per lot? We would need to send these out to an external lab which is $$. We do conduct testing/ share a COA based on customer need. We do conduct testing per lot based on customer requests. My question is- how do you know if I need to conduct analytical tests on a lot basis? I feel our product is very low risk. There for we do not need to. But is monthly to infrequent? Thanks!
Hi All,
Currently we are not doing analytical testing on each lot. It is more on a monthly basis. We are relatively small. Run one shift a day.
We have never been question. We make granola bites. (Not yet certified SQF).
The bites have oats, pasteurized liquid eggs, corn flour etc. We review all CoA's for compliance in negative results/ or within spec.
Our water activity it 0.2 or sometime even undetectable. We have never had a positive Salmonella result. We are always way above temp on our critical limit.
Do we need to conduct analytical tests daily or per lot? We would need to send these out to an external lab which is $$.
We do conduct testing/ share a COA based on customer need.
We do conduct testing per lot based on customer requests.
My question is- how do you know if I need to conduct analytical tests on a lot basis? I feel our product is very low risk. There for we do not need to. But is monthly to infrequent?
Thanks!
Hi ral,
Qu 1 - How big is the lot size that you currently test Salmonella on ?
Qu 2 - Currently how many samples per lot do you use to test for Salmonella ?
Qu 3 - What is yr basic procedure for Salmonella ?
Qu 4 - Do you do any ring testing for Salmonella ie including Salmonella positive samples ?
Reason for above is that many facilities have such low sampling densities/restricted Procedures that a negative result only indicates an absence of gross contamination and/or a low analytical sensitivity.
I have never seen a CoA for Salmonella which did not comply with a specification. :smile:
Hi ral,
Qu 1 - How big is the lot size that you currently test Salmonella on ?
Qu 2 - Currently how many samples per lot do you use to test for Salmonella ?
Qu 3 - What is yr basic procedure for Salmonella ?
Qu 4 - Do you do any ring testing for Salmonella ie including Salmonella positive samples ?
Reason for above is that many facilities have such low sampling densities/restricted Procedures that a negative result only indicates an absence of gross contamination and/or a low analytical sensitivity.
I have never seen a CoA for Salmonella which did not comply with a specification. :smile:
Hi Charles C.
You make some good point : :spoton:
QA 1- Currently our lots size is 3,000 pounds of product which is about 6,000 bags of product per day
QA 2-Currently we are only doing 1 bag per day. Which shames my statics professor back in the day. i'' re-evaluate. We also send out shelf life of one year from retains quarterly for wa and Salmonella.
Q3- Currently we are sending all of our Salmonella swabs to an external lab. It is AOAC 2009.03.
QA 4- Yes, we are doing environmental swabs for Salmonella based on Zone, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually. If thats what you mean. In reality we should have Salmonella. Our eggs are pasteurized.
Your are talking about micro testing but what about analytical testing?
SQF is looking to ensure you are making consistent product as well as safe to eat product.
Do you do any type of color analysis? Sensory?
You mentioned water activity. If you tested an got a value of 0.4 would you be concerned? Obviously its not a food safety issue since its so low but it could be a quality issue. "too soft"
SQF is looking that you are running against some type of spec. Not sure how you selling this product but does your end customer have expectations?
We do conduct organoleptically (color, texture etc.) and appearance (to dark, to light) shape every 2 hours.
Our spec is Less then 0.6 due to were micro growth starts to occur.
Majority of our end customer does not have specs. There are a few customer that do require a CoA ,we conduct testing on then.
Hi ral,
Is yr OP simply (a) a general query regarding Lot Safety and Quality or (b) primarily wanting to know as to what analytical requirements are expected if SQF Safety certification is to be attempted ?
The answer(s) to (a,b) will probably vary.
@tessa- as you no doubt know, SQF separate Safety and Quality for certification purposes. Hence my above query(s).
@ral - Assuming 1 day's production is a Lot, a sample size of "1" is IMO of limited value unless perhaps generated by compiling multiple samplings of adequate size from a reasonably homogeneous production.
Re my Qu. 4, "ring testing" means checking the accuracy/capability of lab doing the analysis by means of positive/negative control samples. Previously, Salmonella testing at low levels was both an Art and a Science however modern methods/media have enabled more accurate/consistent results.