Hot Fill with products above 4.6 ph value
Hello all,
I have a new challenge with the company that I just recently started with, we had a small food manufacturer and we hot-fill-hold for many of our products (sauces and soups) We fill above 180F, and use steam capper process, 212 F for 30 min. In one of our products we have 5.86 ph value. my First question is do we need to have our products register under FDA regulations for acidified foods? and also do I need to use a Pressure cooker instead of the steam sealer process?
this is the first time I came across with this process so I'm trying to understand it better.
your input is really appreciated
Thanks!
Yes
Federal Regulations require commercial processors of shelf stable acidified foods and low-acid canned foods in a hermetically sealed container to be sold in the United States to register each establishment and file scheduled processes with the Food and Drug Administration for each product, product style, container size and type and processing method (21 CFR 108). This website contains instructions for establishment registration and process filing along with other information useful to manufacturers of these types of products.
A low-acid canned food (LACF) is any food (other than alcoholic beverages) with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a water activity greater than 0.85, excluding tomatoes and tomato products having a finished equilibrium pH less than 4.7.
An acidified food (AF) is a low-acid food to which acid(s) or acid food(s) are added and which has a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below and a water activity (aw) greater than 0.85.
https://www.fda.gov/...ory-information
As for pressure canning, your schedule process should tell you the answer-if you don't have one, you need that as well
Thank you so much for your reply, another we also are keeping these products refrigerated so I read that if we are not storing at room temperature we do not need to get registration. Do I need to have a process authority to validate this process?
Also If any can give some guidance about what would I consider to be my CCP for this process, My first thoughts are having the filling temp/ time as ccp 1 then and thermal sealing Temp/time as ccp 2 ?
CP will be fCooking time and Ph readings for each batch. Do I need to have water activity as a CP?
Ah, not shelf stable, that does change things
What is your expected shelf life?
I would only do water activity as a CCP if you had a really tight acceptable range
Here is a link that will walk you through what you need as a refrigerated product (which by default means your not shelf stable-that is product at ambient temps)
https://www.fda.gov/...ns-and-Flow.pdf
"Precursor Questions 1. Is the product stored, distributed, and retailed under refrigerated or frozen conditions? If yes, go to 1(a). If no, go to 2. a. The product is not covered by 21 CFR Part 113 or 21 CFR Part 114"
Hi carlacnm02,
For hot-fill pasteurised products that are not pH protected (low-acid) it is quite likely that the post fill cooling will also be a CCP to prevent spore activation and growth.
Kind regards,
Tony
Be careful with this because you could have c. bot growth at refrigerated temperatures. It is not that common and the FDA is currently evaluating it, but they do recommend other control measures to potential control any outgrowth under refrigerated conditions dependent on your product.
See some links / resources below.
https://www.fda.gov/...ns-and-Flow.pdf
https://www.fda.gov/...low-acid-juices
Thank you all for your advices.
Hi There,
This was very useful. I wanted to add a few more questions for this low acid topic. I am working on a HACCP for energy drinks ph are higher than 4.6 they are currently ranging from 4.8 to 5.4 so they are in the category of low acid canned foods (21 CFR 113) they are also in dietary supplements (CFR 111) because of the added salts. and they go under treatment for 5 log reduction. I believe that if you demonstrate that your treatment is good enough to control clostridium you are fine producing the beverage in that range of pH and also, they are kept refrigerated so the label has to stated they need to be kept under refrigeration. If i include all of those, i should be fine. right? i just wanted to make sure i am going in the correct path. Thank you.