Introduction
In respect to food, a hazard is anything that can cause food to be unsafe to eat and falls within any of the following categories: microbiological, chemical or physical. Hazard analysis on critical control points are the measures taken during processing of foods so as to ensure that the highest levels of food safety are observed. These regulations need to be updated regularly so that the food business can keep up with the dynamics of these industries. Risk assessment serves several functions such as management of risks, identification of potential risks and identification of where in the food chain, control steps can be applied better (Doménech et al., 2011). A business should therefore note every stage that its product passes through in the course of production, transporting, storing, processing and serving the food products. This is followed by analysis of the potential risks involved in these processes and the measures that the company takes to prevent these hazards. Moreover the business needs to note down the approaches that it would take if any or both of the hazards took place. As such, this paper aims at developing an HACCP plan for the meat patty/cream scenario so as to integrate the aspects of health care to food safety.
The product description
Product name: frozen raw meat patty
Intended use? Meat patties should be fully before eating and can be used by anyone.
Type of package? Packed in a plastic bag in layers.
Operator defined limits? Have limits for metal ions which should not be greater than 3 mm of ferrous ions and 4mm of stainless steel in the final products.
Shelf life? Four months.
Where will the product be sold? In retail shops and wholesale public points.
Labeling instructions? Keep frozen and requires minimum temperatures during cooking.
Distribution and storage? The product should be refrigerated or transported on ice.
It involves the processing of raw meat and other substances into patties which are then sold as frozen packed materials. The features of meat patties are that it should be free of microbial contaminants, foreign materials, meet the standards of taste, be properly packaged, and be within the required temperatures for consumption. When it gets to restaurants, hotels and other food outlets, meat patty should be cooked by deep frying before serving. However, the high risk groups should not consume this product. The mode of packaging, labeling and the shelf life of this product depends on the regulations set by the manufacturing company (Doménech et al., 2011). During distribution, meat patty should be transported on ice.
Flow diagram
A diagram showing the steps involved in the processing of meat patties.
Meat from slaughterhouses and processed using HACCP as well non meat products are received at the company. The meat is trimmed into small pieces followed by the addition of nonmeat ingredients such as salt and spices. These are then frozen and chilled for storage followed by tempering. The meat and non-meat products are weighed and decartoned, pre-ground and mixed. The final grinding is done followed by perforation and freezing and finally analysis to determine the presence and levels of metal ions. The meat is then packaged, labeled, weighed and stored as frozen awaiting the distribution. Finally, the prepared patty meat is packaged using contact packaging materials that are safe when they come into contact with
Hazard analysis
Microbial hazards in meat patties
During the storage of meat patty, there is a possibility of growth of microbial pathogens such as enteric pathogens which are associated with contamination with feces for example E.coli and clostridium species. Insufficient storage temperatures also are associated with growth of microorganisms on meat patties. During handling practices such as packaging, if the integrity of the container to be used is compromised, then the product becomes microbially contaminated.
Chemical hazards in meat patties
There could be presence of chemical residues such as antibiotics and anthelmintics as well as invasion by physical hazards such as bones and metals. For the non-meat ingredients, there could be a possibility of invasion by spore forming microorganisms, for instance, Bacillus cereus as well as C23 residues such as herbicides and pesticides. This is because spores can survive cooking temperatures and therefore proliferate at temperatures between 3 to 50 °C (Doménech et al., 2011). Since there are concerns of contamination of meat by use of spices, it would be advisable for a food company to treat the spices using irradiation and fumigation methods before using them for food processing.
Physical hazards in meat patties
During grinding, entry of visible foreign particles such as hair, metal, rubber gloves and bones in the meat and non-meat products makes the quality of the final product to deteriorate.
Determination of the critical control points
At receiving, the chilled and frozen meat patties are obtained in bulk bins directly from the premises that are convenient in the manufacturing station. Since the temperatures of the meat are measured as part of the incoming materials, a small increase in temperature is not supposed to affect the quality of the meat patty (Doménech et al., 2011). Therefore, use of temperature recorders during transport helps to monitor the required conditions of the product. Use of essential oils oleoresin has been suggested to prevent microbial contamination of spices. During weighing and storage of non-meat ingredients such as salts, spices and additives, bacterial pathogens might be carried over from the previous processing steps. During frozen chilling, meat trimmings might be contaminated by bacterial pathogens and bones. This can be prevented by application of effective refrigeration methods to control the temperatures of the meat. Additionally, during pre-grinding, the contamination of meat by metals and bones can be prevented by accurate and daily checking of the equipment parts and changing of the blades. When detecting metals, metals and bacterial pathogens can be removed by use of metal detectors which reject meat patties that have pieces of metals.
Shelf life: the meat patties can stay for two or three days past the sell-by date if properly frozen. At 4 °C, the meat patty will stay for longer time since this is the ice temperature. At 18 °C, the meat pie cannot stay for longer than one day before consumption else it will go bad. This is the temperature which is needed for cooking and more bacterial pathogens are likely to thrive well at 20 °C as compared to 4 °C.
Conclusion
As a result of the increasing concern about the safety of foods, it is imperative for food businesses to establish profound manufacturing and processing strategies. This ensures that the products delivered to the markets are of high quality. Additionally, health risks that are associated with food poisoning are enormous and pose a public health concern.
References
Doménech, E., Amorós, J. A., Pérez-Gonzalvo, M., and Escriche, I. (2011). Implementation and effectiveness of the HACCP and pre-requisites in food establishments. Food Control, 22(8), 1419-1423.
