FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AGRARIA

LA MOLINA
Lima (Peru)

May 2006

Dipl.- Ing. Nikolaus Barkow

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 FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY

• Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)

• Good Hygiene Practice
• Good Catering Practice
• Hazard Analysis Crititical Control
Point (HACCP)

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 Food Safety & Quality

Priorities of Food Attributes/Properties:

• Safety
• Legality
• Quality

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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Safety
• Food must not cause any foodborn illness or injury

• Free of all harmful, pathogens microorganisms

• Free of all harmful, poisonous ingredients,

additives or materials (foreign materials)

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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Legality
• Food must conform to all relevant legal requirements
including declaration of packaging

• Food additives & composition

• Food processing

• Packaging material

• Packaging declaration / labelling:

- weight, expiry date, ingredient line etc.,
name of product
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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Quality
Definitions:
• Product meets customers expectations especially re.
Sensory attributes:

- Taste
- Odour
- Texture
- Crispness
- Mouth feeling
- Appearance
- Colour
- Shape
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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Quality

Definitions:
• Product meets customers expectations also re.

- Price / value relation

- Health
- Nutrition
- Shelf life
- Packaging

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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Quality
Quality is „when the customer comes back and not
the product“.

Remember:
The customer is the most important person for all
your jobs.

The customer pays your salaries!

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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Safety: Fundamentals

• Food microbiology
• Preservation (methods)
• Temperatures / storage conditions
• Shelf life / expiry dates
• Contamination (without microorganism)
• Parameters for safe food
• HACCP: Hazard Analysis And Critical
Control Point
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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Microbiology

• Types of Microorganisms

A. Pathogenic microorganisms
B. Non-pathogenic microorganisms

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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Microbiology

• Classification of Microorganisms

A. Viruses
B. Bacteria
C. Molds (Fungi)
D. Yeasts (Fungi)

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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Microbiology
Viruses
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Polio
• H5N1 (Bird Flu, Influenza A)

Food Vehicles:
Milk (espec. raw milk)
Shellfish (oysters)
Meat and Poultry

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 Food Safety & Quality

BACTERIA

• Salmonella

FOOD: Meat, meat products

Poultry
Eggs and egg products
Milk and milk products

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 Food Safety & Quality

BACTERIA

• Staphylococcus aureus

FOOD: Dairy products

Meat and poultry
Warmed-over foods
Potatoe and other salads

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 Food Safety & Quality

BACTERIA

• Clostridium botulinum
FOOD:
Improperly processed canned food such as

- Green beans
- Corn
- Beets
- Chili peppers
- Mushrooms
- Spinach

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 Food Safety & Quality

BACTERIA

• Clostridium perfringens

FOOD:

Meat that has been boiled, steamed, braised, stawed or

insufficiently roasted and allowed to cool slowly and served
the next day, either cold or reheated.

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 Food Safety & Quality

BACTERIA

• Bacillus cereus

FOOD: Rice and rice dishes

Meat and meat products
Seasoning, mixes
Spices
Dry-mix food items (potatoes,
soups, gravy)

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 Food Safety & Quality

BACTERIA

• Shigella
FOOD:

- Beans
- Potatoes
- Shrimp
- Turkey
- Macaroni salads
- Apple cider
- Mixed foods
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 Food Safety & Quality

MOLDS (FUNGI)

Aspergillus (A. Niger)

• Some molds produce

carcinogenic aflatoxins. (mycotoxins)

• Molds do spoil food (production of mycotoxins?)

and therefore must be controlled.

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 Food Safety & Quality

YEAST (FUNGI)
• Yeasts are responsible for a few diseases in
human beings.
• No evidence that these diseases are transmitted by
food.
• No evidence that yeasts accuring naturally in food
are harmful to human beings.
• However, yeasts do spoil food and therefore must
be controlled.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Useful microorganisms for the food

industry
• Bacteria
Lactobacillus (L. casei, L. bulgaricus,
L. acidophilus)
- Yoghurt
- Cheese
- Pickles
- „Sauerkraut“ (chucrut)
- Sausages (e.g. salami)

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 Food Safety & Quality

Useful microorganisms for the food

industry

• Yeasts
Saccharomyces (S. cerevisiae)
(fermentation of sugars  CO2 + ethanol)

- Bread
- Wine
- Beer
- Hard liquors, brandy, spirits

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 Food Safety & Quality

Useful microorganisms for the food

industry

• Molds
Penicillium (P. notatum, P. roquefortii)

- Penicillin (antibiotics)
- Cheese (blue cheese, Rocquefort cheese)

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that

effect the microbiology of foods

• Temperature
• pH
• Moisture content (aw values)
• Nutrient content
• Relative humidity of environment (r.H. %)
• Presence & concentration of gases in environment

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Temperature

• In general, bacteria survive a wide range of temperatures.

• The majority prefer between 15 °C and 43 °C (mesophiles).
• Some bacteria live and multiply between 43 °C and 55 °C
(thermophiles).
• Other bacteria seem to prosper between 0 °C and 7 °C, but
can grow at temperatures as low as –7 °C (psychrophiles).

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Temperature

• About 43 °C many bacteria will start dying. And by the time

the temperature reaches 60 °C, most will be killed.
• Spores are not always killed by high temperatures. They even
can survive boiling! But vegetative cells are destroyed by
high heat.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Temperature: Spores

Some bacteria (e.g. Clostridium Botulinum) produce a special

structure called spores as a means of protection against an
unfavorable environment. A spore is a thickwalled formation
within a bacteria cell and is capable of becoming a vegetative
organism when conditions again become favorable.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Temperature: Spores

The thick wall of the spore makes it much more resistant to heat,
cold and chemicals than is the usual bacteria cell. A spore may
survive boiling water for an hour or even more.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods
Temperature:

Temperature danger zone for foods

7 °C up to 60 °C.
Storage conditions
• Ambient 20 °C (to 25 °C)
• Chilled / rerigerated 0 °C up to +4 °C
• Frozen <18 °C.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Temperature

0°C up to 7 °C Psychrophies

15°C up to 43°C Mesophiles

43°C up to 55°C Thermophiles (hot springs)

7°C up to 60°C Temperature danger zone for foods

100°C Spores

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

pH

• The pH (potentia hydrogenii) of a medium is a measure of its

acidity or alkalinity on a scale from 0 to 14.
• pH 7 exactly neutral
• pH 0 – 6.9 (<7) acid
• pH 7.1 - 14 (>7) alkanine

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

pH

• 4.6 – 9 Optimum grow range for bacteria

• < 4.6 Most bacteria will not grow

• Many foods, especially meats, have a pH factor, that is very

favorable for the growth of bacteria.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

pH
pH values of various foods:

Beef (ground) 5.1 – 6.2

Ham 5.9 – 6.1
Chicken 6.2 – 6.4
Fish (most species) 6.6 – 6.8
Tuna fish 5.2 – 6.1
Shrimp 6.8 – 7.0
Butter 6.1 – 6.4
Milk 6.3 – 6.5
Cheese 4.9 – 5.9
Mayonnaise 3.0 – 4.1
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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

pH
pH values of various foods:

Asparagus 5.7 – 6.1

Broccoli 6.5
Carrots 4.9 – 6.0
Celery 5.7 – 6,0
Lettuce 6.0
Potatoes 5.3 – 5.6
Tomatoes 4.2 – 4.3
Grapefruit 3.0
Limes 1.8 – 2.0
Oranges 3.6 – 4.3
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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Moisture content (aw values)

• The water requirements of microorganisms is defined in

terms of water activity (aw).
• Without free / available water microorganisms do not grow.
• aw of most fresh foods is > 0.99.
• aw < 0.91 spoilage bacteria do not grow
• aw > 0.80 spoilage mold can grow
• As lower the aw value, as safer the food.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Moisture content (aw values)

The reduction of the free, available water (aw-value) for microorganisms

is used for preservation of foods:

• Salting
• Sugar
• Drying
• Smoking
• Freezing
• Dehydration

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Nutrient content of food

In order to grow and function normally, the important

microorganisms in foods require the following:

• Water
• Source of energy
• Source of nitrogen
• Vitamins and related growth factors
• Minerals

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Relative humidity of environment (r.H. %)

• Relative humidity affects the aw-value of the foods

(low r.H. dries the food!)
• Relative humidity is important for the growth of
microorganisms at the surfaces (especially molds,
yeasts and certain bacteria).

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 Food Safety & Quality

Environmental parameters that effect the

microbiology of foods

Presence & concentration of gases in the

environment

• High CO2-concentration (up to 10 %) („controlled

atmosphere“) is used for storage of fruits (retard fungal
rotting of fruits).

• Ozone (several ppm!) is effective against spoilage

microorganisms (not for high lipid-content food: Increase of
rancidity!)
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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food

Basic methods

• Chemical methods
• Physical methods
• Biological methods

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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods
Chemical methods:

• Preservatives
- Benzoic acid
- Sorbic acid
- Propionic acid
- Sulphur dioxide

• Curing
- Sodium nitrite
- Sodium nitrate

• Salting
• Smoking
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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food

Basic methods

Physical methods:
Low aw-value (reduction of free / available water)

• Salt
• Sugar
• Drying
• Smoking
• Freezing
• Dehydration
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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food

Basic methods

Physical methods:
Heat - coldness

• Pasteurization
• Sterilization
• Baking
• Cooling
• Freezing

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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods

Physical methods:
Heat – coldness: Pasteurization
Requirements / conditions
• pH < 4.5
• Temperature 65 – 100 °C
• Reduction of microorganisms by 106
• Shorter shelf life
• Often in combination with
- cooling, addition of salt or/and acids, controlled gas
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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods

Physical methods:
Heat – coldness: Sterilization (canned foods)
Effect of sterilization depends on
• Temperature (normally 121 °C)
• Time
• Type of microorganisms
• Number of microorganisms
• Parameters in food (pH, aw, ingredients)

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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods

Physical methods:
Heat – coldness: Sterilization (canned foods)

• 12-D-Concept (pH > 4.5)

Reduction of spores of Clostridium Botulinum by 1012
i.e. minimum of 2.5 minutes at 121 °C (F0 = 2.5)
(for safety reasons 3.0 minutes F0 = 3.0)
• F0-value: sterilization time (minutes) at 121 °C

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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods

Physical methods:
Heat – coldness: Baking

• Transformation process:
Dough to edible product (bread, cookies etc.)

• Killing of microorganisms by heat

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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods

Physical methods:
Heat – coldness: Cooling

• Temperature above freezing point and well below

6 – 7 °C

• Optimum +1 - +3 °C

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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods

Physical methods:
Heat – coldness: Freezing

• Temperature below -18 °C

• Optimum -25 up to -18 °C

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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods
Other physical methods:

• Radiation
- UV
- X-rays
- -rays

• Gas
- Nitrogen (N2)
- Carbondioxid (CO2)
- Vacuum
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 Food Safety & Quality

Preservation of food
Basic methods

Biological methods:

• Lactic acid fermentation

• Alcoholic fermentation

• Acetic acid fermentation

• Propionic acid fermentation

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 Food Safety & Quality

Contamination of food

Hazard

A biological, chemical or physical property, which

may cause food to be unsafe / dangerous for human
consumption.

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 Food Safety & Quality

Contamination of food

Hazard

Biological Hazards

• Pathogenic microorganisms

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 Food Safety & Quality

Contamination of food

Hazard
Chemical Hazards

• Pesticides
• Antibiotics
• Chemicals
• Cleaning agents / chemicals
• Nitrites & nitrates (water)
• Lubricants

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 Food Safety & Quality

Contamination of food

Hazard
Physical Hazards
Foreign bodies / matter

• Glas
• Metal
• Wood
• Stones
• Plastic
• Pests
• Bones (meat-, poultry- & fish-industry)
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 Food Safety & Quality

Shelf Life (Durability) of Food

The date of minimum durability shall be the date until which the
foodstuff retains its specific properties when correctly/ properly
stored.

•Declaration of „Best before date“ and „Expiry date“:

Up to 3 months: day and month

(e.g. dairy products)
3 - 18 months: month and year
(e.g. fruit juices)
more than 18 months: year only (end of year!)
(e.g. canned food)

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 Food Safety & Quality

Food Safety

Basic requirements

Center Temperature min. 70 °C for 2 minutes

Store at Temperatures > 70°C or < 5°C
pH < 4.5
Aw < 0.86
UHT: > 140 °C, 2 sec. (milk)
Pasteurized: 75 °C, 15 sec. (milk)
Fo = 3 (for Sterilization of canned Food)

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