Should Heat Sealing be a CCP for Gas-Flushed Cooked Meats?

Hello 

I have read through some previous questions but still not feeling that they answer my question. Should Heat sealing gas flushed trays of a pre mixed 70% Co2 & 30% Nitrogen be a CCP for cooked meats covered in flavouring with an average of 12 days life?

I did the 4 question decision tree (N,Y,N, Y = CCP) 

So a few questions given were buying in mixed gas should we test for the correct amount in the tray or just test the seals? 

Many thanks 

You should be checking both, but I would suggest  more frequent seal verification than gas testing as the seal is much more likely to cause problems

Thanks, we test the seal but do you think it should be a CCP?

Thanks, we test the seal but do you think it should be a CCP?

My take is that the process of map packaging includes both the "adding" of gas as well as sealing.   The CCP is the "MAP packaging" process.

Much like a "cooking" process contains both time and temperature.   You have to control / monitor both.   The process of MAP packaging is gas addition and sealing.   Both the seal and gas would need to be monitored, verified, validated, etc. 

Depends on the hazards you've identified in your product. If product recontamination after the product is seal is identified as a hazard - then the sealing could be a CCP. 

The MAP mixture - used for a better shelf-life and not reduction of biological organisms. 

I agree with kfromNE. I typically see MAP used for shelf-life extension, more than food safety. Have you made the determination as to which use yours is for?

Either way, you can do a short study to verify that the gas flushing process is removing O₂ down to your limit or CO₂ is present within the specified limits. If gas concentration is good, do as Scampi indicated and focus on seal integrity with a lower gas verification rate.

Just as important is to verify that the gas inputting system is being properly cleaned and sanitized. Can you run a media plate (APC, Sab Dex) through the process after cleaning and incubate it? You might be amazed at what the horn/nozzle is blowing onto your product if proper disassembly, cleaning, and sanitizing is not done...

KTD