TH1708

Process Control for Microbiological Hazards

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system consists of two (2) essential processes – product
design and control and process design and control. Both design controls are typically defined by research and
development groups. Some educators refer to the ‘three (3) Ks’ as a comprehensive program of
microbiological hazard control in food production, those being – kill them, keep them from growing, and keep
them out. Described more scientifically, these three (3) procedures are (Wallace, 2011):
1. Destruction of microorganisms (kill them). Many well-established and several novel procedures are
available to kill microorganisms. These include thermal processes such as cooking, pasteurization and
sterilization, and non-thermal processes as such irradiation, high hydrostatic pressure, and pulsed
electric fields.
2. Prevention of microbial growth (keep them from growing). The primary extrinsic factors used to
control microbial growth are refrigeration, freezing, and drying. The intrinsic factors used to control
microbial growth are salting, dying, acidification, and fermentation.
3. Prevention of contamination (keep them out). Many potential microbiological hazards can be avoided
by preventing cross-contamination from raw materials and the processing environment to processed
foods. Cleaning and sanitation procedures and personnel practices used in food production facilities
are most important in this regard.
Chemical and physical hazards are generally controlled by prerequisite programs and by the use of detection
devices. Programs must be in place to avoid contamination of the processed food with chemical hazards such
as undeclared allergens and physical hazards such as insects, metals, wood, and glass fragments.
Destruction of Microorganisms
Microorganism in food materials can be killed by thermal and/or non-thermal processes. Because the
reduction of microbial populations occurs logarithmically (during log phase), several terms have come into
common usage to easily compare the toxic effects of various treatments.
I. Thermal Processes
• Pasteurization. This refers to the destruction of vegetative microbial cells and viruses in food
products. It is defined also as: any process, treatment, or combination thereof that is applied to
food to reduce the most resistant microorganism of public health significance to a level that is not
likely to present a risk under normal conditions of distribution and storage. It also involves a
cooking or heating procedure conducted at atmospheric pressure. Pasteurization is used to
protect public health by killing microorganisms and to extend product shelf life by killing spoilage
microorganisms. Pasteurized products are not sterile. They must be refrigerated during further
distribution unless they are otherwise preserved.
• Sterilization. This practical procedure for food involves high-temperature thermal processes.
Many food items to be sterilized are packaged into metal, glass, or plastic retail containers, sealed,
and processed under pressure with steam at 121°C or higher. Such process is designed to kill
bacterial spores that could otherwise cause product spoilage or foodborne illness upon
consumption of the food.
• Canning processes. Low-acid canned food items require a minimum process to ensure the absence
of spores of Clostridium botulinum.

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• Ultra-high Temperature (UHT) processes. Food items may be sterilized at ultra-high temperature
for a very short time, e.g. 140-150°C for several seconds. In a process, the UHT-treated food items
are aseptically packed into packages that have been separately sterilized by chemical sterilants.
• Dry heat processes. Dry hot air can be used instead of steam to sterilize materials. However, very
long times are required. While seldom used directly for food sterilization, dry heat is commonly
used for sterilization of laboratory glassware and sampling devices.
II. Non-Thermal Processes
• Filtration. It can be used to remove microbes, particles, and some chemicals from clear liquids and
gases. Many organic compounds can be removed from liquids and gases by filtration through
activated carbon.
• Chemical disinfectants. It can be used to reduce microbial loads in liquid or dry food materials.
Chlorine compounds and ozone are often used to sanitize water that may be used in dipping of
fruits and vegetables, as ingredient water, and in the cleaning of food processing equipment.
• Ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light has a number of food safety and public health applications. Major
uses of UV light for disinfection involve arrays of high-intensity UV bulbs over which liquids flow.
Very large arrays are used to disinfect municipal water supplies; smaller arrays are used in food
processing plants to disinfect recycled flowing water. UV rays can also be used in ventilation
systems to disinfect air that is supplied to food production areas.
Prevention of Microbial Growth
The principal process controls to prevent the growth of microorganisms in food include refrigeration, freezing,
hot-holding, and packaging.
• Refrigeration. The widespread availability of mechanical refrigeration for the distribution and
storage of food items in commerce and in homes enables consumers to have a wide variety of
food available throughout the year. The shelf life of many refrigerated food items ranges from
several weeks to months. Eventually, almost every food will be spoiled by microorganisms if the
storage temperature is too high, the storage time too long, or if the food has higher than normal
initial load of spoilage microorganisms.
• Freezing. The shelf life of refrigerated perishable food items can often be extended by frozen
storage. Commercially produced frozen food items are usually stored at -18°C, a temperature that
prevents the growth of all foodborne microorganisms.
• Hot-holding. Cold is generally defined as 4°C or cooler and hot as 60°C or higher. Food items held
at temperatures between these limits should not be held for more than six (6) hours without
prompt refrigeration or heating. The hot-holding temperature provides a margin of safety; none
of the foodborne pathogens are capable of growth above 50°C.
• Packaging. Some perishable food products are packaged in containers with a headspace of air
under atmospheric pressure. Other factors permitting, aerobic microorganisms can grow freely in
such products. Their growth can be inhibited or prevented by the removal of headspace oxygen
(vacuum packaging) or the addition of inhibitory gases (modified atmospheric packaging). The
most practical benefit of the two (2) methods mentioned is the inhibition or prevention of mold
growth.

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Prevention of Contamination
The third type of process control to enhance the protection of food products against microbial defects is the
prevention of contamination by relevant spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms.
• High-risk Ingredient Control. High-risk ingredients are those that have been historically associated
with particular biological or chemical hazards. The mode of ingredient control has shifted from
quarantine and testing to validation and verification of supplier capabilities.
• Allergenic Ingredient Control. The major allergens are peanuts, tree nuts, crustaceans, fish, eggs,
milk, soy, and wheat. Minor or regional allergens include celery, legumes, mollusks, and seeds of
sesame, sunflower, and poppy. A key control measure to protect allergen-sensitive consumers is
adequate product labelling. A non-allergenic ingredient can be substituted for an allergen when
feasible.
• Sanitary design and procedures. Food safety and quality failures are often associated with lack of
adequate cleaning and sanitation procedures. In turn, the inadequacy of such procedures is
sometimes associated with the improper sanitary design of food processing equipment and
facilities.
• Moisture control. Unsuspected presence of moisture can contribute to food safety and spoilage
incidents. Strict attention to sanitary design and adequate cleaning and sanitation procedures
can prevent many potential microbiological safety and quality problems.
Process Control for Chemical Hazards
Food manufacturing facilities should maintain a chemical control plan to prevent contamination of its products
with allergens, mislabeled or adulterated ingredients, and cleaning and maintenance chemicals. As with all
food safety and quality practices, employee training and awareness is an essential factor in minimizing the risk
of chemical hazards in food (Wallace, 2011).
Allergen Control
• Food processors must enact effective control measures to prevent the occurrence of this
regulatory and potential public health hazard. These include verification of the accuracy of the
ingredient declarations on product labels, and the implementation of suitable prerequisite
controls for the receipt, storage, and use of high-risk ingredients.
• Allergen-containing ingredients need to be clearly labelled and stored separately from non-
allergen-containing ingredients.
• Large companies can dedicate a production line or even an entire production facility solely to the
production of a specific allergen-containing or allergen-free food. Production sequencing and
scheduling can be a useful separation technique when multiple food items are produced on a
single production line.
• Adequate cleaning and sanitation procedures are essential to prevent the contamination of non-
allergen-containing food with residual allergens from food items produced on the same
equipment. Complete wet-cleaning and sanitation is the best way to remove residual allergens.
White Powder Control
• Hundreds of food ingredients such as salts, leavening agents, preservatives, acidulants, sugars,
flours, starches, and some proteins are in white powder forms, which are similar to cleaning
agents and other non-food chemicals.

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• Upon receipt at the facility, a sample of the white powder should be tested by visual or chemical
means to verify its identity. The accuracy of the ingredient labels should be confirmed when
placed into storage.
Cleaning, Sanitation, and Maintenance Chemicals
• Food processing facilities should establish a chemical control plan to organize control and
monitoring procedures to prevent food product contamination with chemicals.
• Cleaning and sanitation chemicals and pesticides are needed to be stored in a confined, locked
area and not to be used during periods of food production.
• It is essential that ingredient or product containers are never used to store or handle non-food
chemicals such as cleaning agents, lubricants, and pesticides that are used in the food production
facility.
Process Control for Physical Hazards
Many types of foreign materials may contaminate food products during processing and packaging. The primary
causes of contamination were attributed to the following:
× Inadequate maintenance of processing × Lack of HACCP program
equipment and facilities × Flawed hazard analysis
× Lack of supplier management systems
Exclusion Techniques
• Control of glass and brittle plastic contamination. Maintain a strict prohibition on the use of glass
or brittle plastic instruments, utensils, or food storage and handling vessels to avoid the possible
entry of glass fragments into the food product.
• Control of wood contamination. The contamination of food with wood splinters has largely been
eliminated by the exclusion of wooden pallets and wooden handles on tools and maintenance
equipment used in all production areas.
• Personnel practices. Implementation and training in personnel practices are essential to
eliminate the hazard of items falling into the product stream. Employees should not wear items
of jewelry. Employee uniforms and hair/beard covers are usually required. The uniforms should
have no pockets, so that items such as pens and pencils cannot be carried in the pockets and fall
into the product. Tools must also be clean and used with care.
Removal Techniques
• Control of metal contamination. Routine equipment maintenance and inspection are essential to
prevent contamination with ‘tramp metal’ or ‘swarf’ that would break off or be ground off into
the food product flow. Many types of in-line magnets are used by food processors on incoming
ingredients, processing equipment, and packaging operations, both to protect the equipment
from damage by tramp metal and to avoid product contamination.
• Control of foreign material in product streams. In addition to magnets and metal detectors, a
wide variety of filters, screens or sifters can be used to detect or remove physical contaminants
in ingredient and product streams.

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Risk Analysis
Decisions on measures required to manage risks are taken in the context of risk analysis process. There are
different types of models for describing the risk analysis process. This process includes the following three (3)
components according to Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).
 Risk Assessment. It identifies the product of the likelihood of the occurrence and the magnitude of
the consequences of exposure to a hazard on human health. It is a scientifically-based process
consisting of the following steps or elements:
I. Hazard Identification – the identification of biological, chemical, and physical agents capable of
causing adverse health effects and which may be present in food.
II. Hazard characterization – the qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the nature of the
adverse health effects associated with biological, chemical, and physical agents, which may be
present in food.
III. Exposure assessment – the qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the likely intake of
biological, chemical, and physical agents via food as well as exposures from other sources if
relevant. This provides information on the potential damage it may cause in specific
populations.
IV. Risk characterization – the qualitative and/or quantitative estimation, including attendant
uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health
effects in a given population based on hazard identification, hazard characterization, and
exposure assessment.
 Risk Management. The process, distinct from risk assessment, of weighing policy alternatives, in
consultation with all interested parties, considering risk assessment and other factors relevant for the
health protection of consumers and for the promotion of fair trade practices, and if needed, selecting
appropriate prevention and control options.
 Risk Communication. The interactive exchange of information and opinions throughout the risk
analysis process concerning risk, risk-related factors and risk perceptions, among risk assessors, risk
managers, consumers, industry, the academic community and other interested parties, including the
explanation of risk assessment findings and the basis of risk management decisions.

References:
Mortarjemi, Y. (Ed.), & Lelieveld, H. (Ed.). (2014). Food safety management: A practical guide for the food
industry. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, Inc.
Wallace, C. S. (2011). Food safety for the 21st century: Managing HACCP and food safety throughout the global
supply chain. United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
World Trade Organization (2009). Risk assessment in the international food safety policy arena. Retrieved from
https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd200901_e.pdf on 28 November 2017

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