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This information can be used to develop food safety and quality programs that meet the requirements of modern Regulatory, Customer and Industry Standards:
When considering the development, documentation, and implementation of Sous Vide Processing within food safety and quality management systems, the following information should be considered to ensure effective outcomes:
Sous vide is a professional cooking method that utilizes plastic oxygen barriers and precise temperature controls to cook food items with reduced oxidation and extend shelf life as outcomes. The process allows the controlled cooking of items in an oxygen-free environment, which if maintained, will last longer than foods cooked using more traditional methods by excluding food contact with aerobic bacteria after cooking. The outcomes of sous vide cookery include foods with naturally enhanced flavors and organoleptic qualities.
Cooking foods in sealed environments is a technique used by numerous civilizations for hundreds of years. Whether it is in a clay pot, underground in plant leaves, or plastic, the general technique delivers outcomes that are sought after for their high-quality aspects. The development of food-grade high-temperature-resistant plastics recognized sous vide as a viable commercial cookery technique in the second half of the 20th century.
The modern sous vide cookery technique is generally attributed to a group of French Chefs, who discovered its many benefits in the mid to late 1960s. This discovery showed that by packing meat products into a vacuum-sealed plastic bag and submerging it in a water bath with controlled heating, the shrinkage from the cooking process was significantly less than with traditional cookery methods. The organoleptic properties of the foods cooked in this way also showed significant improvement regarding flavor, texture, and color. The lack of oxygen and protection from the heated water prevented the loss of flavor while the gentle controlled heating action protected the protein from unnecessary damage during the cooking process.
Sous vide is now commonly used in both high volume and boutique catering and food manufacturing operations around the globe. The technique is favored for the favorable yields from the cooking of meat products in particular; yields that would otherwise be lost through conventional cooking methods. When applied under controlled conditions under the management of the HACCP-based food safety and quality system, sous vide can also replicate significant extensions in product shelf life and product consistency.
With foods sealed in an oxygen-free environment and gently heated over an extended timeframe, sous vide produces foods that are generally far more nutritionally sound than foods cooked using traditional methods.
Precise control overheats, oxygen, and the omission of added water all support the sous vide technique in retaining significantly higher percentages of nutrients than other cookery methods. Because the foods are not directly contacted by the heating source, there is also no requirement for added fats, which is also more nutritionally sound. Where fats are added to sous vide foods, these are generally for flavor or technological function. The fact that the foods are sealed during the sous vide process also retains water-soluble minerals that may otherwise be lost through other cooking methods.
The oxygen-free environment in which the foods are cooked also reduces the amount of oxidation; another acclaimed health benefit. Moisture retention is perhaps the most noticeable of all outcomes of sous vide cookery; this also impacts volatile flavors being retained in cooked foods. With the availability of significantly more natural flavor, the requirement for flavorings and additives such as salt is lessened.
The lower temperatures at which sous vide cooking is conducted also assist in the preservation of vitamin content within foods. Though vitamin degradation will occur at any temperature, the oxygen-free cooking environment and lower cooking temperatures generally preserve significantly more vitamin content than with more common cooking techniques.
Contrary to popular belief, vacuum packaging of foods does not exclude microbial growth. It is therefore important, as with any cookery method, to ensure standards of sanitation are maintained at their highest levels for sous vide cookery. One disadvantage with sous vide cookery is the inability of the facilitator to smell the product during the cooking process. In this context, it is generally considered good practice to assess items as they become available for product assessments. As with any cooking method, sous vide relies on good quality hygienic ingredients and inputs to achieve appropriate outcomes. The lower the levels of micro-organisms on items packaged into sous vide bags; the lower the risk of potential microbiological foodborne illness occurring. There are no miracles with the sous vide process; bad inputs will result in bad end products.
Pathogen growth is perhaps one of the most important factors to consider when addressing potential hazards within a sous vide HACCP application. The low cooking temperatures combined with lack of oxygen can replicate an environment in which pathogens such as Clostridia can thrive. In this context, it is of utmost importance that sous vide techniques are scientifically validated and supported by ongoing verification activities.
Potential risk from anaerobic microbiological pathogens growth within the sous vide process can be reduced by consideration of the following factors, many of which are unique to anaerobic methods of cookery:
When applied under controlled conditions, including implemented food, personal, and premise hygiene standards by trained professionals, the sous vide method can provide outcomes that are extremely safe and exclusive of uncontrolled risk of foodborne illness.
Time and temperature are among the two most important factors in the effective storage and handling of sous vide items; before, during, and after the sous vide process itself. The following considerations should be made as elements of any applied sous vide process:
Because of the high-risk nature of outcomes where the sous vide process is not validated, verified, or standardized; it is often recommended that a competent food industry specialist is consulted regarding the development, validation, implementation, monitoring, and verification of the cooking method.
It is important to consider the staff who are involved with the monitoring of cook-chill critical limits. They must be competent in all food safety-related activities involved and must be of sound ability to make objective judgments. Hazards present may include Chemicals, Foreign Objects, and Pathogenic microorganisms.
The concept of Cook-Chill catering has been used predominantly since the early 1970s, but it was not until the middle of the 1980s that this concept began to gather momentum within various areas of modern food industries. No matter what size a food business is, there are obvious advantages and benefits from using cook-chill methods, especially regarding the requirement to maintain time and temperature controls in all areas of food production and delivery. With Cook-Chill systems, there are no miracles; badly prepared and cooked food will be just as bad when regenerated some days later.
Foods correctly prepared and handled in a cook-chill system will be impossible to distinguish from freshly cooked food. In many cases, the organoleptic benefits from some cook-chill applications produce outcomes that are better than freshly prepared food.
In food service operations, the problem with most cook-serve production kitchens is that there is a time lag between cooking an item and availability to the customer. During this time lag, the food is kept hot for extended periods, which destroys the taste, color, and nutritional value of the food. When applied appropriately, a Cook-Chill system will deliver a higher standard of foods than those held at hot temperatures for any timeframe.
The fundamentals of a best practice-based cook-chill system include:
If your food business supplies foodstuffs manufactured to a customer’s specifications, it is important to consider any specific Sous Vide Processing Development requirements in relation to their items.
Document: A document provides guidance and or direction for performing work, making decisions, or rendering judgments that affect the safety or quality of the products or services that customers receive.
Documented policies, procedures, work instructions, and schedules form the basis of any food safety and quality management system. The following documentation formats may be considered to ensure ongoing compliance with specified requirements for Sous Vide Processing:
If your food business supplies foodstuffs manufactured to a customer’s specifications, it is important to consider any specific Sous Vide Processing Documentation requirements in relation to their items.
You may wish to visit the Sous Vide Processing Templates section of haccp.com for examples of Sous Vide Processing documentation, record and resource formats commonly applied within food safety and quality systems.
Implementation: Implementation is the application of documented food safety and quality system elements into the actual business operation.
The implementation of Sous Vide Processing within any food business requires genuine commitment from senior management, staff, and visitors to ensure the nominated goals of implementation are achievable on an ongoing basis. It is a step that requires significant planning and consideration of general and specific food business circumstances to ensure the outcomes of Sous Vide Processing do not negatively impact the safety and quality of the food items dispatched from the business.
Implementation of Sous Vide Processing must include a clear definition of responsibilities and authorities for all levels of participation by senior management, staff, and visitors to the site.
When implementing Sous Vide Processing within food safety and quality system, you may wish to consider the following requirements before completion:
If your food business supplies foodstuffs manufactured to a customer’s specifications, it is important to consider any specific Sous Vide Processing Implementation requirements in relation to their items.
Monitoring: Monitoring is the act of reviewing and confirming measurable parameters of a defined process or product status.
Monitoring requirements within food industry sectors are generally identified against limits of acceptability defined within HACCP plans, implementation procedures, and work instructions. Monitoring usually includes some element of record-keeping, which may be maintained manually or through digital systems. It is important to consider that advancements in technology have spawned many systems and processes which are self-monitored and or self-adjusted when variances are identified. Regardless of the system used; The goal of any monitoring activity is to provide sufficient evidence that any limit of acceptability has been met.
Traditional Sous Vide Processing monitoring requirements include manual recording and the application of corrective actions when the results of monitoring are found to be outside acceptable limits. Corrective Actions should also be strongly linked to the monitoring process where applied to ensure full traceability of the applied actions.
Common monitoring activities and record formats may apply to Sous Vide Processing:
If your food business supplies foodstuffs manufactured to a customer’s specifications, it is important to consider any specific Sous Vide Processing Monitoring requirements in relation to their items.
You may wish to visit the Sous Vide Processing Templates section of haccp.com for examples of Sous Vide Processing documentation, record and resource formats commonly applied within food safety and quality systems.
Corrective Action: Corrective action is mandatory action to be taken when a deviation to the Quality System occurs, particularly in relation to a Critical Control Point.
Preventative Action: At any step in the process where a hazard has been identified, preventative action must be put into place to prevent re-occurrence.
Corrective Action and Preventative Action is implemented to ensure that any identified non-conformance issues are documented, investigated, and rectified within appropriate time-frames. Corrective action is any action applied to regain control over a product, process, policy, or procedure that has been identified as being non-conforming outside nominated limits of acceptability. Preventative action is any action applied to prevent any identified non-conformance from reoccurring.
The outcomes of corrective and preventative actions should result in regained process control after effective application. Specified corrective actions are commonly linked to the HACCP Plans and the food business certification process.
Below are Corrective Action and Preventative Action examples which may be associated with Sous Vide Processing related non-conformance:
If your food business supplies foodstuffs manufactured to a customer’s specifications, it is important to consider any specific Sous Vide Processing Corrective Action requirements in relation to their items.
You may wish to visit the Corrective Action and Preventative Action section of haccp.com for examples of best practice applications for this food safety and quality system element.
Verification: The act of reviewing, inspecting, testing, checking, auditing, or otherwise establishing and documenting whether items, processes, services, or documents conform to specified requirements.
Verification is the detailed review of all food safety and quality system elements to confirm that they are effectively developed, documented, implemented, monitored, and reviewed. All food safety and quality system elements, including documented policies, procedures, training, HACCP plans, and their operational applications must be verified on an ongoing scheduled basis. The verification process commonly includes a defined schedule for which verification activities are required, how often they are conducted, who is responsible, and detailed documented procedures for each nominated verification activity.
The general goal of an established verification process is to ensure any systemic non-conformance issues are identified and rectified within an appropriate time frame. When non-conformance issues are identified through the verification process, Corrective Actions and Preventative Actions should be implemented to ensure they do not impact the effectiveness of the food safety and quality system.
The following examples of verification activities may apply to Sous Vide Processing:
If your food business supplies foodstuffs manufactured to a customer’s specifications, it is important to consider any specific Sous Vide Processing Verification requirements in relation to their items.
You may wish to visit the Verification Activities section of haccp.com for examples of best practice applications for this food safety and quality system element.
Validation: The process of gathering evidence to provide a scientific basis for the documented act of demonstrating that a procedure, process, and activity will consistently lead to the expected results. It often includes the qualification of systems and equipment.
Validation is the provision of evidence to support the limits of control or acceptability for food safety or quality parameters nominated within systemic elements. Limits of control or acceptability are commonly included within documented food safety and quality systems elements such as procedures, HACCP plans, and specifications.
Common sources of validation include regulatory and legislative standards, finished product specifications and customer requirements, industry codes of practice and guidelines, verified and validated research, historical product, and process control outcomes, and analytical testing.
The general goal of an established validation process is to ensure any systemic non-conformance issues are identified and rectified within an appropriate time frame. When non-conformance issues are identified through the verification process, Corrective Actions and Preventative Actions should be implemented to ensure they do not impact the effectiveness of the food safety and quality system.
Validation activities are commonly defined within the verification schedules and procedures of established food safety and quality management systems.
The following examples may apply to the validation of the limits of control or acceptability for Sous Vide Processing:
You may wish to visit the Validation Activities section of haccp.com for examples of best practice applications for this food safety and quality system element.
Skills and Knowledge: Skills and knowledge are attributes of human interactions commonly linked to competency within any specified job-related task.
Training and competency requirements for Sous Vide Processing must be ongoing, including regularly scheduled reviews to ensure the effectiveness of training and competency outcomes.
Team members who have defined responsibilities regarding Sous Vide Processing should have knowledge including:
Team members who have defined responsibilities regarding Sous Vide Processing should have skills including:
Team members who have defined responsibilities regarding Sous Vide Processing should have access to resources including:
If your food business supplies foodstuffs manufactured to a customer’s specifications, it is important to consider any specific Sous Vide Processing Training, Competency, and Resources requirements in relation to their items.
You may wish to visit the Training, Competency, and Resources section of haccp.com for examples of best practice applications for this food safety and quality system element.
haccp.com was created to support food businesses and food industry professionals in achieving and maintaining the stringent requirements of food industry compliance.