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Could a strong odour of an essential oil be a quality issue for other

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Mesha

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Posted 26 November 2013 - 06:48 AM

Hi,

 

We are manufacturing flavoured confectionery in our factory.

 

Now the management wishes to use a vacant area in the factory for distilling highly aromatic essential oils from some spices. This area happens to be "a little away" from the raw material storage area.

 

Could there be any food safety or food quality non-complaince due to this ?

 

What can be the various aspects that we should take care of so that both the activities are run with no quality/safety issues ??

 

Thanks in advance :smile:

 

 

 


Regards,

 


Charles.C

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Posted 26 November 2013 - 07:02 AM

Dear Meena,

 

IMEX "aromatic" can have a variety of implications, human and product-wise, both good and the opposite. :smile:

 

So does the "aromatic" odour carry over into the production area of "confectionary" ?

 

People doing oil-frying operations sometimes have analogous problems on adjacent lines requiring  use of prefab. quick installation walls /  overhead, hood-vapour extraction units into the atmosphere.

 

Rgds / Charles.C


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


Mesha

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Posted 26 November 2013 - 07:09 AM

Hi Chrales,

 

Thanks for the prompt response :smile:

 

By "aromatic", I actually meant strong aroma only ! One of the spices is Green Cardamom.

 

Though, we have not started yet, but I am of the possibility of carry-over of the odour everytwhere in the factory unless some specific precautions are taken to prevent this.....And I have to look for those too :ninja:


Regards,

 


Charles.C

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Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:15 PM

Dear Meena,

 

Wish i had some experience with Green Cardamon.

 

Maybe you know the answer already, but if not, i suggest a small preliminary trial to evaluate the detectable "carrying distance".

 

Of course, other more enlightened chefs here may be able to advise the answer immediately. :smile:

 

Rgds / Charles.C


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


SUSHIL

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Posted 26 November 2013 - 12:16 PM

Hello Meena,

If you are distilling aromatic herbs and spices  by steam distillation which have pleasant flavor like cardamom,cinnamon,peppermint,vanilla etc generally  have un- objectionable odours then it may not be a concern inside the factory premises. However if solvent-extracted it will be of concern, as solvents can cause health problems and are inflammable.

 

 There are no studies on long term exposure of these oils of adverse health effects on humans.Hence safety precautions to be taken particularly for the persons  working in this essential oil plant and also install devices/barriers to limit exposure to employees of nearby confectionary plant by taking the help of environmental scientist/specialist.

Many essential oils are used as food additives and many are used in aromatherapy but are used in small amounts and for limited period of time.

 

cardamom /cinnamon are basically used in mouth freshners  and spiced teas .

 Similarly Menthol and peppermint are used in breath mints. However Menthol crystals has very strong odor and to dissolve in peppermint oil in it is mixed in a seperate room with computer controlled machine for use in breathmints as human beings can tolerate odors upto a certain threshold limit.

 

Some of the most beneficial oils can prove harmful under certain conditions. Concentrated oils are very strong, and just because a product is natural doesn't mean that it's harmless. Inappropriate use can often lead to adverse and damaging side effects.

 

Studies show odor strongly affects individual behavior. (Both good and bad)

 

Smell amplifies taste

Stimulating the sense of smell to buy products is not a new concept for those in the food industry. Bakers and Patisseries have been using these techniques for many years. They understand that smell amplifies taste and the use of these smells can attract an otherwise reluctant customer. Studies show the sense of smell is the most powerful stimulus known and often provoke a strong emotional response meaning customers are more likely spend on impulse.

 

When the aroma of baked bread was released in a US supermarket, sales in the bakery section increased threefold.

Once consumers smell a product, they are more likely to buy it because aroma triggers an emotional reaction - a frame of mind more conducive to spending, say experts like coffee aroma from coffee roasting outside coffee making factories. bakery aroma outside bakeries.

 

Odors emitted from food processing plants are becoming more of a concern as food plants and residential areas grow closer in proximity. The objectionable odours in the food industry are generally a result of the physical processing of foods in which biological or chemical reactions form volatile organic compounds (VOC). These reactions are often precipitated by such processes as heating, drying, or smoking of foods. Odour thresholds are subjective among neighbours of processing plants and for this reason standard methods have been approved for testing odours.

 

Most odourous compounds emitted from food plants are not a public health concern but can be considered a public nuisance and, therefore, are subject to local governmental regulations.

 

Recent example-

California town sues Sriracha hot sauce maker over chili odors

A small Southern California city has sued the makers of the popular Sriracha-brand hot pepper sauce, saying tear-inducing odors emanating from its chili processing plant in town are creating a public nuisance, that cause eye and throat irritation and headaches.

Read more at-

http://www.torontosu...ver-chili-odors



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Charles.C

gaardendan

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Posted 22 May 2014 - 02:05 PM

 If you store an odor absorbing product next to an aromatic, yes you will have a quality issue in the sponge. Picture a skid of garlic stored next to a skid of powdered cocoa. I would imagine that garlic flavored cocoa is not desired.

Best solution is isolation and intelligent storage solutions. An example might be to store the cocoa or powdered cheese (whatever your odor sponge is) far away from the aromatic. Another facility would work but if you can't make that happen you could segregate the materials, Try placing the odor sponge nearest to an air intake and the aromatics nearest to an exhaust fan. I've seen that work in the past.





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