That is why it is very important:
-
for manufacturers of ready to use food products (designed by their
manufacturer for direct human consumption without thermal food processing to
destroy or reduce the number of microorganisms) to use different control measures for
Listeria monocytogenes and its growth in food until the end of the term;
-
to accumulate knowledge about the potential bacterial growth in food and to
document these facts. The manufacturer must take it into account when determining a
safe food expiration date;
-
shelf life period is the time during which food product remains safe and meets
the requirements of quality in terms of sticking the conditions of its storage and use.
The product date of expiry determines its durability and is expressed by «best
before» that is labeled to the food product in accordance with purviews number 9 and
10 of the guideline 2000/13/EC [5, 11, 12.13, 15].
Committee Regulation N 2073/2005 contains criteria for Listeria monocytogenes
in foodstuffs (Table 1).
Table 1 Criteria for Listeria monocytogenesin foodstuffs
1
Ready-made food products forbabies and ready-made meals for special health care needs
The plan of sampling
n= 10, c = 0
Limit
M=m= absence in 25 g
Stage
products placed on the market, for their validity
2
Ready-made food products, capable to support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes
bacteria
The plan of sampling
n= 5, c = 0
2 limits
100 cfu/g or absence in 25 g
2 stages
products distributed to the market, for their validity, or
before sending food from the (ORHP)
3
Ready-made meals not capable to support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria
The plan of sampling
n= 5, c = 0
Limit
100 cfu/g
Stage
products distributed to the market, for their validity
If necessary, the food market operators, responsible for food production, are
obliged to monitor the criteria of safety during the product shelf life. In particular, it
concerns ready-made meals that are able to maintain the growth of Listeria
monocytogenes, which, in its turn, may become peril to the public health. The
following guidance [2, 6, 11, 12, 13] were developed to help the representatives of food
industry to make researchers on the ability to maintain the growth of the pathogen.
These recommendations include:
-
the determination of physical and chemical properties of the food product, such
as level of acidity (pH), the activity of water (a
w
), the content of salts, the concentration
of the preservatives and the type of packaging, taking into account the conditions of
storage and processing, possibilities of pollution;
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