Abstract
Ensuring food safety is becoming progressively important in frozen foods due to increased demand and consumption worldwide. The Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) shall support daily operational activities and monitor the lack of process hygiene & sanitation actions to achieve food safety. The aim of this study was implementation of EMP in the frozen fruit and vegetable factory to identify the place that allows for pathogen/indicator microorganism growth and create preventive actions to reduce or eliminate the risk of cross- contamination. A total of 400 swab samples, Zone 1 (n = 228), Zone 2 (n = 90), Zone 3 (n = 52), Zone 4 (n = 30) were examined for E. coli and Coliform, Total Plate Count (TPC), yeast and mold and environmental Listeria spp. The percentage of satisfying target value before vs after the implementation of EMP was 82% vs. 100% for E. coli, 61% vs. 86% for Coliforms, 48% vs. 77% for TPC and 63% vs. 80% for yeast & mold respectively for Zone 1. Environmental Listeria was not determined in any of the zones. Integration of EMP to food safety management systems is essential to prevent outbreaks, recalls and economic losses. In addition to depending on the developing technologies, EMP should be supported with new corrective actions.
Highlights
The trend of frozen foods has been increasing worldwide due to globalization and busy lifestyle
HACCP and the good manufacturing practices (GMP) applications are recommended to be applied together in all processes of food production for effective food safety system (Tomar & Akarca, 2019)
The implementation of Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) program is recommended in recent years to ensure safe food production, to prevent foodborne outbreaks, product recalls and major economic losses
Summary
The trend of frozen foods has been increasing worldwide due to globalization and busy lifestyle. The global frozen food market is one of the major sectors of the food industry, estimated to reach approximately $ 282.5 billion by 2023 (Sowmya & Samsai, 2019). Food safety and quality of frozen fruits and vegetables is a crucial issue for public consumption. To be considered safe for consumption, frozen foods must meet: legal requirements, customer and hygiene requirements, trading conditions and satisfying their intended use. According to the European Commission on regulation (2016/C 278/01) require implementation of a food safety system based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) for all food chain production (European Commission, 2016). HACCP is a scientific and effective system used to provide the safety of the product from raw material to final consumption (Domenech et al, 2008)
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