affecting the microbiological safety of the
end product. Each critical control point
must therefore be monitored on a regular
basis as loss of control of any one of these
critical control points could have an additive
effect on the microbial load of the
finished product and result in a hazardous
situation occurring. Specific control
options for each critical control point and
their contribution to microbiological
safety of sous vide processed meat/pasta
product are briefly discussed.
(a) Quality of raw ingredients
Raw ingredients are the primary vectors
of harmful or potentially harmful microorganisms
in all processed food products.
According to Stauffer (1988) food ingredients
can be arranged into categories on
the basis of their sensitivity to microbial
contamination (Table 6). While certain
raw ingredients are free or essentially
free of micro-organisms, care must be
taken with the purchase and storage of
more sensitive ingredients, particularly
those of animal origin such as meat, fish
and poultry which may be contaminated
with pathogenic organisms (Stauffer
1988). The hazard analysis should identify
all the ingredients at risk in the for