INDUSTRY NEWS


WARNING! 10 DAY VACUUM RULE STILL CREATING CONFUSION


THE Food Standards Agency issued guidance some years ago on how to control risks from Clostridium Botulinum in vacuum packed foods. C Botulinum is a deadly


food borne pathogen but thankfully it only rarely develops into Botulism, which is a serious life- threatening disease caused by the bacteria’s spores. Cases of Botulism have never been associated with raw meat and only in extremely rare, almost non-existent, circumstances with meat products. Te particular concern with


C Bot.is that it is one of those rare microbes that thrives in low oxygen environments and its deadly toxins are not


guaranteed to be destroyed by cooking. However, it does not grow or form toxins in temperatures below 3.5oC. Te FSA guidance therefore


recommended that vac-packed foods should have a shelf life limited to a maximum of 10 days UNLESS constantly stored below 3oC. Of course, many higher risk products will already have much shorter dates than 10 days in any case. Many butchers have


contacted the Federation over the years when they have suddenly encountered EHOs demanding maximum 10-day shelf lives for ham or bacon or even sometimes raw meat. Previously the guidance was very badly worded and the 3oC limit was poorly explained. Usually when this was politely pointed out to the EHO the issue was resolved. Sometimes we also had to diplomatically point out that raw meat was not a food and therefore not within scope of the guidance.


CRAFTBUTCHER l JULY/AUGUST 2017 A few months ago, the


FSA revised the guidance and clarified the temperature limit. Tat was the good news. Te bad news was that the revision unexpectedly and without much warning had explicitly included raw meat as being within the scope of the guidance. Tis development has caused ructions in the wholesaling sector not all of whom can comply with the temperature limit. Te wider meat industry, including supermarkets, are discussing the issue and considering appropriate action. Te Federation have written pointing out the disproportionate impact of


their revised guidance. Meanwhile we recommend that members ensure storage below 3oC for all vac- packed food kept beyond 10 days, including raw meat, and that you label all products with a packed date in case over- zealous EHOs


suddenly decide to destroy your entire stock because you


could not immediately prove with paperwork the age of the vac-packed items. Te above scenario actually


happened in Scotland very recently we hear - so please BE WARNED! n


Image courtesy of Windsor Food Machinery


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