Any food safety considerations including a Sauce Pouch with RTE Sandwich?
I'm struggling to find the right search terms, but I wanted to get some input/thoughts.
We produce ready-to-eat refrigerated sandwiches, typically wrapped or packaged as entirely put together and grab and go. We're looking into the possibility of making an 'un-dressed' item and including a third-party sauce pouch in direct contact with the sandwich within primary packaging.
The sauce vendor indicates that their process is all RTE and within hygienic zones even after the sauce pouches are sealed, etc. Given proper risk assessment and the appropriate documentation from the vendor - would there be any reason (regulatory or otherwise) to run the pouches through some sort of sanitizer bath process on our end before use?
Thanks Everyone!
You would need to determine if the packaging material of the sauce pouch could have an adverse interaction with your food product.
Also, I have a client that produces a wrapped sandwich and they did the testing for contact and once cleared all the packs get sanitized prior to insertion.
Good Evening,
We use packaged ingredients and sauce packets that come into direct food contact. We do not sanitize the outside of the packs, but we do complete the following:
- We ensure the inside and outside of the packs are food grade and allowed for food contact.
- The packs are treated at all times as if they were ingredients themselves. They are handled with gloves, placed in boxes with liners, are lot traceable, have usage traceability. Anything that touches them must be food grade or for food contact.
- We have the packets included in our ingredient hazard analysis.
- The dispensers used to add the packs are on the process flow as well as hazard analysis.
Good Evening,
We use packaged ingredients and sauce packets that come into direct food contact. We do not sanitize the outside of the packs, but we do complete the following:
- We ensure the inside and outside of the packs are food grade and allowed for food contact.
- The packs are treated at all times as if they were ingredients themselves. They are handled with gloves, placed in boxes with liners, are lot traceable, have usage traceability. Anything that touches them must be food grade or for food contact.
- We have the packets included in our ingredient hazard analysis.
- The dispensers used to add the packs are on the process flow as well as hazard analysis.
Previously worked at a plant that did the same exact steps. :rock:
We packed sauce packets into RTE snacks.