The dairy products you buy and consume every day
are processed to ensure they are safe for human consumption
by reducing the levels of pathogenic microorganisms.
Heat treatment processes are most commonly used in the dairy industry
to produce a safe product with extended shelf life and minimal effect on the quality or flavour.
Pasteurisation was the first commercially accepted process to treat milk.
The process heats milk to a specific temperature of 72 degrees Celsius
for a set period of 15 seconds to eliminate pathogens and extend its shelf life.
Processing at higher temperatures or times can provide a longer shelf life for the product.
High Temperature Short Time Pasteurisation,
ESL and UHT heat treatments are continuous flow processes
which use higher temperatures or times to provide a greater lethal effect on pathogenic microorganisms.
This is followed by cooling of the milk.
Vacreators used for pasteurisation of cream
and deodorisation of butter products, utilise both vacuum and steam to achieve food safety.
High Pressure Pasteurisation places the product under high pressure
whilst canned dairy products are retorted,
which includes both heating and pressure to achieve the desired food safety standards.
Regardless of what heat treatment system your site has,
you must have supporting evidence to show that your system is validated and compliant.
Validation means to obtain evidence to show that a control measure is in place and when implemented correctly,
can eliminate or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level,
rendering your product safe for human consumption and extending its shelf life.
Your site procedures must describe how the heat treatment system has been designed
to ensure that it is effective.
Ongoing post process verification checks, such as phosphatase tests,
enables you to quickly assess whether your heat treatment process was effective and met the minimum requirement.
Such verification activities must be documented
and personnel carrying out these activities must be competently trained.
Your heat treatment equipment operation is a critical process to ensure your product is safe for consumption.
You must supply evidence that your equipment meets the requirements.
Some examples of evidence include:
Calibration certificates for temperature monitoring probes and other sensors
with traceable matching device IDs,
plate integrity checks,
confirmation report of pump speed and actual product flow rates,
records of product divert valve checks for functionality,
confirmation of reaction and response times for valve sensors
to ensure untreated product does not contaminate treated product,
information regarding the continuous temperature monitoring device functionality
and its recording accuracy,
records of pre-production hygiene checks,
preventative maintenance records,
records of corrective actions,
records of post-production cleaning verification activities,
or staff training and competency assessments.
Modified heat treatment equipment should be recommissioned before they are put into production use
as a record of its process reliability in achieving the desired outcomes.
When documenting and reviewing your procedures for your heat treatment process,
you should consider the following:
What is your milk treatment critical limit?
Is it reflective of your HACCP plan?
Have you clearly defined the time and temperature requirements?
Have you described each product being treated?
Have you taken into consideration that there may be different critical limits for each product?
Is there evidence to show that operators responsible for the process are suitably qualified and trained?
Is phosphatase testing carried out?
If so, who is responsible and how often should testing take place?
Are the results recorded?
If phosphatase is still present in the milk, what corrective action is taken?
Are daily pre and post-manufacturing checks performed and recorded each time the process is used?
Are critical sensors and measuring devices accurate and regularly calibrated?
Are calibrations conducted as per your schedule?
Are calibration records traceable to your equipment IDs?
Does your procedure include training for corrective action and notification of failed results?
Do you check that the divert valve is in the correct position,
operational and effective to respond on time?
Is the product flow clearly identified to show how raw and untreated product
is separated from treated products?
Do you have checks in place to ensure that your product cannot be contaminated post pasteurisation?
Is there continuous recording of temperature and time?
Is it electronic?
If so, how is it reviewed and accessed?
Is there a backup for digital records?
Do you compare side by side digital and analogue temperature monitoring devices for proper functionality?
What degree of tolerance is acceptable?
Is this documented?
Have you described how your heat treatment system has been validated
including supporting scientific evidence?
We hope this information assists you to achieve export compliance.