Dear JoyceAdmiral,
I presume there is no heat treatment in yr salsa production.
How about the preliminary treatment of the spices ?? Sterilised or ????
I also presume the capsicum is not heat treated prior to yr reception ??
The typical potential pathogens on raw vegetables (and raw spices) are species from the ground / environment like Salmonella, E.coli O157, S.aureus etc but these will not typically create a HACCP critical point if you hv no appropriate corrective action to remove them, eg heat treatment (which would itself then probably become the CCP).
The above comments are a major reason for the necessity to control the production / harvesting hygiene of raw vegetables so as to minimise the risk of contamination.
Rgds / Charles.C
added -
i just noticed that heat treatment is also typically used in glass jar production so this step will likely be yr CCP as indicated above assuming that the procedure [temp-time] is designed / validated to eliminate the target pathogen [may likely depend on yr local regulations]. Sorry for my misunderstanding.
Hi Charles,
Thanks for the reply. Yes, the salsa will be heated to 80
0C before filling into the glass jar. Regarding to the microorganisms, I agreed that heat treatment will kill the non-spore forming microorganisms and thus will not be a
CCP.
However, I had few concerns that I would like to enquire. Firstly is the residue level of the pesticide used for the fresh raw capsicum, could this possibly be a
CCP as a chemical hazard? Secondly is could high level of pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella contaminating the fresh raw capsicum be a
CCP during receiving? Thirdly is the raw spices, could Bacillus spores presence at high level and be a
CCP during receiving of raw ingredients?
Thanks and regards,
Joyce