The present invention relates to processes and apparatuses for preventing food-borne illnesses by pasteurizing the surfaces of food products.
In spite of increasingly stricter government regulations and ongoing efforts in the meat, fish and poultry industries, outbreaks of illnesses caused by food-borne bacteria continue to occur on a regular basis. In 1999 alone, 25 people in the United States died as a result of consuming contaminated meat or poultry products. The presence of any illness-causing bacteria on ready-to-eat (RTE) and other precooked meat, poultry, and fish products (e.g., sliced ham, beef, or turkey logs, Virginia hams, oven-roasted turkey, spiral honey-baked hams, etc.) is of particular concern because these products typically are not recooked or sufficiently reheated prior to consumption.
The threat posed to public health and safety by food-borne pathogens is extremely wide-spread and the economic impact of even a single outbreak can be staggering. Recently, one company issued a voluntary recall of approximately 16.7 million pounds of RTE turkey and chicken products because of possible contamination problems at just one of the company""s processing facilities. It is reported that possible contamination problems were traced to the facility following the occurrence of certain illnesses identified by state health departments. The recalled products had been distributed nationwide and to some foreign countries.
Examples of particularly serious bacterial contaminants include listeria, salmonella, and E-coli. These contaminants are especially problematic when dealing with RTE and other precooked meat, poultry and fish products and are often present in processing environments in spite of diligent efforts to eliminate them. Listeria monocytogenes, for example, is tolerant to salt, can grow at low temperature, has a high heat tolerance, and can form stubborn biofilms on processing surfaces.
When dealing with RTE and other precooked products, the risk of contamination is particularly high after cooking and prior to completing the final packaging process. Such meat, poultry, and fish products are typically cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160xc2x0 F. so that, at the end of the cooking process, no listeria, salmonella, or E-coli should be present. However, prior to packaging, the cooked product will typically be chilled or otherwise allowed to cool to an internal temperature of about 40xc2x0 F. or less and can be contaminated by airborne pathogens and/or bacteria present on conveyor surfaces, on processing equipment, in condensate drippage, or on the hands of workers in the processing area.
In response to continuing outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, governmental regulatory agencies continue to impose stricter regulations. USDA and FDA authorities have now established zero tolerance requirements for listeria monocytogenes and salmonella in all RTE food products.
Unfortunately, as evidenced by the continuing occurrence of illnesses and deaths from food-borne bacteria, the current industry practices and procedures for dealing with these problems are not sufficiently reliable and are inadequate to meet the zero tolerance requirements now imposed by regulatory agencies. Current procedures commonly consist of maintaining the cooked product in a xe2x80x9ccleanxe2x80x9d environment (a xe2x80x9cclean roomxe2x80x9d) and conveying the product along a critical control path designed to prevent bacteria from reaching the product surfaces. In an effort to keep the processing environment clean, the air within the clean environment is typically filtered and operators are instructed to wash all contact surfaces between shifts and to wash their hands each time they enter the clean area.
It is thus apparent that a need presently exists for a process which will consistently and effectively kill surface bacteria present on food products, particularly on RTE and other precooked meat, poultry, and fish products, and will meet and exceed all governmental regulatory requirements. A need particularly exists for such a process which will not alter the surface characteristics or internal characteristics of the products in any significant way.
The present invention provides a surface pasteurizing system which satisfies the needs and alleviates the problems discussed above. The inventive system can be used for pasteurizing the surface of generally any raw or cooked food product and is particularly well suited for treating precooked whole muscle, emulsified, or other meat, poultry and fish products. In its most preferred embodiments, the inventive system is effective for destroying bacteria without producing any substantial change in the color or other characteristics of the product.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a process for preventing food-borne illness comprising the step of heating a surface of a food product in a manner effective to achieve at least a 3 log reduction in live bacteria on the surface without causing any substantial color change (i.e., any change in color readily discernable by the naked eye) in the surface.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a process for preventing food-borne illness comprising the step of heating a surface of a food product to a temperature of at least 160xc2x0 F., the step of heating being conducted in a manner effective such that no substantial increase in the internal core temperature of the food product (i.e., no increase amounting to as much as 1xc2x0 F. or more) occurs.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a process for preventing food-borne illness comprising the steps of (a) continuously conveying a precooked food product through a continuous infrared oven at an operating temperature of at least 500xc2x0 F. and (b) heating a surface of the precooked food product in the infrared oven for a time sufficient to bring the surface to a temperature of at least 160xc2x0 F. The food product is selected from the group consisting of meat, poultry, and fish products.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon examining the accompanying drawings and upon reading the following description of the preferred embodiments.