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Is Baking a CCP for Egg Custards in HACCP Plans?

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Laura982

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Posted 20 May 2025 - 08:36 AM

Hello IFSQN 

 

I am reviewing our haccp and have multiple products so created 2 process flows. First we have sweet cakes and tarts such as sponge, loaf cakes, cookies flap jack all of which I don't feel should have baking as a CCP. However we then also make egg custards. I am thinking these fall under the second flow for savoury pies and quiches which will have baking as a ccp but then based on reading old posts, failure to cook the quiche will be noted due to liquid egg being present. 

 

What are your thoughts please?


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AZuzack

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Posted 20 May 2025 - 12:53 PM

Do your Risk Analysis of each hazard.  Typically baking/cooking to a specified internal temperature is used to kill off microbes that can be present in the ingredients or environment.  Once the baking step becomes the way to control any micro growth from the earlier steps, then it is your CCP.  

 

FDA source for cookie CCPs:

https://www.fda.gov/...pter-6)-PDF.pdf

 

Previous discussion that looks applicable:

https://www.ifsqn.co...-and-high-care/


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GMO

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Posted 08 June 2025 - 08:34 AM

I'd be more inclined to suggest egg based foods are going to be CCPs but with baked products, the rule of thumb I always had was that if the point you needed to cook it to for food safety was close to the point where it would be acceptable for quality, it's probably a CCP.  For bread for example, you'd still have dough when you're well past the food safety limit.  

 

For egg based products, I suggest those temperatures are pretty close.

 

There is a famous controversy in Spain about their tortillas (not the bread, the egg based potato omelette) and how the traditional way of cooking them perhaps caused a food safety incident.

 

How to cook Spanish tortilla: Salmonella outbreak sparks national debate - BBC News

 

Some people will not reject egg products that are perhaps a little underdone.  Especially if they come from countries with vaccinated flocks.  Runny yolks in the UK are commonly eaten but when they're shown on Facebook recipe videos, the US posters are up in arms "needs more cooking!" 

 

(From the country that eats rare hamburgers... But that's another topic!)


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G M

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Posted Yesterday, 08:04 PM

I would expect the heat treatment to be a CCP for all your baked goods.  Both raw flour and eggs are recognized as sources of Salmonella.  Plenty of spices can be sources of pathogens too.

 

Going to a longer time or higher temp for quality purposes doesn't make the lower minimums for safety irrelevant.  

 

 

...Runny yolks in the UK are commonly eaten but when they're shown on Facebook recipe videos, the US posters are up in arms "needs more cooking!" 

 

(From the country that eats rare hamburgers... But that's another topic!)

 

That's a bizzare annecdote.  Plenty of people eat over-easy and other soft or runny yolked eggs in the US.  Maybe they're just not the ones ranting on Facebook?


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GMO

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Posted Yesterday, 08:25 PM

I would expect the heat treatment to be a CCP for all your baked goods.  Both raw flour and eggs are recognized as sources of Salmonella.  Plenty of spices can be sources of pathogens too.

 

Going to a longer time or higher temp for quality purposes doesn't make the lower minimums for safety irrelevant.  

 

 

Having done a lot of work recently on HACCP, I can tell you there is a lot more disagreement in it than you'd think.  But where I did my HACCP training, we had this exact discussion and the view was exactly that.  If your product could not exist without the temperature being FAR above the temperature where the pathogens would be killed = not a CCP.

 

The other complication with HACCP is that there are decision trees which are slightly different.  Codex could indeed lead you down the route you have said, Campden BRI version, to my mind, probably wouldn't because of Q4 (in version 5 of guideline 42, they've gone for a frankly wacky solution in v6 so even they have changed).

 

Ultimately I would defend it not being a CCP very happily and have done so in bakeries.  But it's the HACCP plan owned by the site, not by an auditor.


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