Ambient room temperature in RTE packaging room

Hi all,

I got one for you, my company is co-packing a drained yogurt product that is marinated in a dried herb infused oil. We've been having issues with condensation in the jars, working in a refrigerated room, which is hurting shelf life of the product and possibly lending to some mold growth. Additionally, we have some equipment we want to use in the room that will work better at room temperature.

The individual we are co-packing for has always done the yogurt forming and jarring at room temp, she keeps the yogurt refrigerated until she needs it and refrigerates the yogurt after it has been jarred. All in all, the product itself is at ambient temperature for less than two hours. However, the equipment used to form the yogurt is getting coated and is only cleaned at the end of the day. I'm wondering if there is an issue with microbiological safety here. The pH of the yogurt is low, 3.9 or below. I'm also thinking of a lobster facility I was working at that had an ambient temperature RTE room, the product was on ice but all the conveyor belts with lobster bits on them were only cleaned at the end of the day.

I know there is guidance on time/temp controls in the seafood HACCP guide that focuses on product temperature, but not much about equipment. I'm also wondering if this yogurt would be classified as a PHF because the pH is so low and due to the competitive inhibition of the LAB. Seen some sources say yes, others say no.

Thanks for any responses ahead of time,

Colby

Run some tests to compare micro. data with (hopefully existent) Specification.

ambient temperature = ??degC

Ambient Temp would be 21 to 23C. We have steam kettles going that will make the room a little warmer than usual.

Hi Colby,

I agree with Charles. You could take a sample (either of product or swab a food contact surface) maybe every hour or so since product starts and compare the counts as the day goes on. This could help you determine if you might need a mid-day clean or similar.