Safety requirements for food chains

The food industry is the market sector that produces essential goods. Globalization and technological advances are helping to improve production processes in many ways. But at the same time, they make production more complex and demanding more attention, as well as clear regulation. We are aware of the many challenges you have to deal with in order to control such a diverse food production. The scaling up of production processes makes it increasingly difficult to control the quality and safety of manufactured products. Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or harmful chemicals can cause serious illness. In order to prevent this, all technological processes and the result of activities must be checked. In this regard, it is necessary to have the same regulations common to the entire industry, which will help to unify the requirements for the food chain. All processes in food production must strictly comply with international standards in order for the products to be safe for consumption. Today we have selected for you several standards that relate to the regulation of the food industry. They describe the requirements for testing products for the presence of unsafe substances for the human body.

Guidelines for the validation of qualitative screening methods for the detection of residues of veterinary drugs in milk and milk products (ISO/TS 23758:2021)

CEN ISO/TS 23758:2021

Danger to human life in dairy products can create drug residues on animals that give milk. In order to exclude this possibility, the final product must undergo a series of studies that can confirm its safety for the human body. Considering the possible danger to the client's health, an international standard has been created that regulates this issue. The list and decoding of the required research methods are described in such an international standard: CEN ISO/TS 23758:2021

This document describes general workflows and protocols for the validation and the verification of qualitative screening tests for the detection of residues of veterinary drugs in liquid milk (raw, pasteurized, UHT and reconstituted milk powders and whey protein extracts) including biological methods. This guideline does not cover the validation of residue analysis by HPLC, UHPLC or LC-MS/MS.

This document is intended to be useful for manufacturers of screening test kits, laboratories validating screening methods or tests, competent authorities and dairies or end users of reagents or tests for the detection of veterinary drug residues in milk products. This document facilitates and improves the validation and verification of screening methods. The goals of this document are a harmonization in validation of methods or test kits in order for all stakeholders to have full trust in the result of residue screening and to limit the overlap and multiplication of validation work in different laboratories by sharing the validation results generated by an independent laboratory. Furthermore, a harmonized validation and verification procedure allows for comparison of the performance of different screening methods.

This document does not imply that all end users are bound to perform all verification work proposed. The verification of the correct use of reagents/kits for the detection of antimicrobials is not part of the scope of this document.

The main feature of this guide is that it regulates the process of testing liquid milk for the presence of residues from veterinary treatment that the animal may have taken. This standard is very important for companies that produce dairy products. If you are interested in purchasing this standard in order to organize your activities in accordance with international norms, you can follow the link to our website, which are attached to the description of the standard.

Foodstuffs - Determination of Alternaria toxins in tomato, wheat and sunflower seeds by SPE clean-up and HPLC-MS/MS

EN 17521:2021

The presence of toxins in plant foods can be harmful to human health. It is up to the manufacturer to make sure that his products are safe for consumption. In order to identify the content of toxins, it is necessary to use an appropriate research method. In order to standardize this process, an international standard was created that completely regulates the process of checking products for their presence: EN 17521:2021

This European Standard specifies a method for the determination of five Alternaria toxins in wheat, tomato juice and sunflower seed samples by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The method includes the analysis of Altenuene (ALT), Alternariol (AOH), Alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) in the range of 1 μg/kg to 100 μg/kg, and Tentoxin (TEN) in the range of 5 μg/kg to 500 μg/kg, and Tenuazonic acid (TEA) in the range of 10 μg/kg to 1000 μg/kg.

A feature of this standard is that it describes a method for testing for the presence of toxins for products such as wheat, tomato juice and sunflower seeds. Toxins pose a huge health hazard. They can cause serious painful conditions in a person. Therefore, all products that the company produces must be tested. If your company is engaged in natural production of these products, then you can purchase this standard.

Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) - Part 1: Method using Baird-Parker agar medium (ISO 6888-1:2021)

EN ISO 6888-1:2021

In order to ensure the safety of food products, it is necessary to check all food products for the presence of staphylococci. One of the common verification methods is the horizontal method. This International Standard regulates one of the variants of the horizontal method, which using Baird-Parker agar medium. The results of this study provide insight into whether a product is safe to eat. In order for these processes to be carried out in the highest quality way, such international standards are created as: EN ISO 6888-1:2021

This document specifies a horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci by counting the colonies obtained on a solid medium (Baird-Parker medium)[10] after aerobic incubation at 34 °C to 38 °C and coagulase confirmation. This document is applicable to:

— products intended for human consumption;

— products intended for animal feeding;

— environmental samples in the area of food and feed production, handling, and

— samples from the primary production stage.

This horizontal method was originally developed for the examination of all samples belonging to the food chain. Because of the large variety of products in the food chain, it is possible that this horizontal method is not appropriate in every detail for all products. Nevertheless, it is expected that the required modifications are minimized so that they do not result in a significant deviation from this horizontal method.

Based on the information available at the time of publication of this document, this method is not considered to be (fully) suited to the examination of fermented products or other products containing technological flora based on Staphylococcus spp (e.g. S. xylosus) (such as cheeses made from raw milk and certain raw meat products) likely to be contaminated by:

— staphylococci forming atypical colonies on a Baird-Parker agar medium;

— background flora that can obscure the colonies being sought.

Nevertheless, both this document and ISO 6888-2 are given equivalent status.

A feature of the standard described above is the research methodology that it regulates. The information described in it concerns using Baird-Parker agar medium. It can be applied to human food, animal food, and any other food and nutrition product. If your company is engaged in food products, you can purchase this standard using the link attached to the description of this article.

Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) - Part 2: Method using rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium (ISO 6888-2:2021)

EN ISO 6888-2:2021

The microbiology of all stages of technological processes in the food industry must be strictly controlled and fully tested. This standard considers another of the possible options for the horizontal method for monitoring the presence of staphylococcus in food. Its scope covers both food for human consumption and animal feed. This International Standard governs this research method using rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium: EN ISO 6888-2:2021.

This document specifies a horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci by counting the colonies obtained on a solid medium (rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium) after aerobic incubation at 34 °C to 38 °C (see Reference [10]). This document is applicable to:

— products intended for human consumption;

— products intended for animal feeding;

— environmental samples in the area of food and feed production and handling;

— samples from the primary production stage.

This horizontal method was originally developed for the examination of all samples belonging to the food chain. Because of the large variety of products in the food chain, it is possible that this horizontal method is not appropriate in every detail for all products. Nevertheless, it is expected that the required modifications are minimized so that they do not result in a significant deviation from this horizontal method.

Based on the information available at the time of publication of this document, this method is not considered to be (fully) suited to the examination of fermented products or other products containing technological flora based on Staphylococcus spp. (e.g. S. xylosus) (such as cheeses made from raw milk and certain raw meat products) likely to be contaminated by:

— staphylococci forming atypical colonies on a Baird-Parker agar medium;

— background flora that can obscure the colonies being sought.

Nevertheless, both ISO 6888-1 and this document are given equivalent status

Unlike the previous standard that we reviewed, this international document regulates the horizontal research method using rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium. Our experts are always ready to help you understand the difference between different research technologies, as well as in what situations it is necessary to use one or another method. In the face of a huge selection of opportunities, it is always important to choose the right one that will best cope with the tasks of your business.

The need to inspect food products in accordance with international standards

Automation of production processes significantly complicates the control over the quality and safety of food products. The desire of companies to scale their business is quite natural and understandable. But you need to understand that such a desire is also followed by an increased need for product quality control. Food products can be hazardous to the body if harmful substances have entered into their composition during production. Because of this, all products must be thoroughly tested in accordance with international standards. Manufacturing safe products for the consumer helps to gain customer loyalty. Depending on what kind of products your company manufactures, you may need different international standards. It is also worth noting that some standards may describe, at first glance, similar research methods, however, they all have their own characteristics. It is very important to understand which international standard will be useful for your company. Therefore, if your company wants to increase its position in the market, as well as produce a high-quality and safe product, then our specialists are always ready to help you in choosing the passing international standards that will help in regulating your activities.

References:

https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/cen/5bb7dbc4-4957-49c3-857e-e969eb06c597/cen-iso-ts-23758-2021 https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/fb34ffbd-0d45-4a6e-80cc-57fa3109e852/sist-en-17521-2021 https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/fd4008a3-392e-4f02-9b70-c64336ccb68c/sist-en-iso-6888-1-2021 https://standards.iteh.ai/catalog/standards/sist/2360f788-d6fd-4299-9d1d-928eb4aeccbb/sist-en-iso-6888-2-2021