Blogs

This poster evaluates the microbiological safety of immersion method concentrated coffee, and single strength cold brew coffee processed by UHT. The results were used to determine if temperature controls for safety (TCS) should be required for these products during retail.

Do you need microbial testing for your food products? Learn the importance of microbial challenge testing to ensure food safety and quality.

In this on-demand webinar, you will learn how to assess your microbiological food safety hazards related to these holding steps and determine if pathogen growth and/or toxin production may occur. We will discuss several case studies as well as different strategies you may employ to address these identified risks. Original airdate October 11, 2023.

Following the recent webinar titled "Validation of Thermal Processes Applied to Low-Water Activity Foods" experts Shirin Abd and Dr. Wilfredo Ocasio answered some frequently asked questions.

Pathogenic organisms, like Salmonella and E. coli, can grow in low water activity foods, leading to foodborne illness outbreaks. Thermal processes inhibit microbial growth and ensure only safe ingredients and products reach the shelves. Thermal processes must be validated to make sure they fully prevent pathogen growth. This blog outlines what foods may need an LWAF thermal process, what a validation study looks like, and the results the experts at Eurofins provide.

Is your product an acidified food? This infographic goes over what an acidified food is, the regulations associated with acidified foods, and different sterilization techniques (thermal processing and cold-fill-hold) for various products. Our experts are here to help you determine if your product is an acidified food, what testing is required, and come up with a solution that is right for you.

This webinar outlines the concept, design and execution of appropriate validation strategies and procedures intended to mitigate microbiological hazards in Low-Water Activity Foods. In the context of FDA regulations, low-water activity foods (LWAF) are those products with a water activity (aw) of less than 0.85. For many decades, these products were believed to present a low microbiological hazard risk. Various food related illness outbreaks, starting with a massive outbreak of salmonellosis due to peanut butter consumption in 2008-2009, raised awareness of the risk resulting from extended survival of pathogens in these products even in the absence of active growth. Original airdate August 23, 2022.

This webinar aims toward detailing the issue of high acid products, assisting with the categorization of these products, and providing strategies for managing products that fall under the acidified food category but do not receive a full thermal process. Original airdate August 10, 2022.

High-Pressure Processing is a food processing technology that enables food safety while maintaining food quality. Learn how this high-pressure technology contributes to food science and testing to help support HPP processing and HPP food safety.

Validation of aseptic fillers intended for the production of low-acid, shelf-stable products is a core requirement of the FDA’s low-acid canned food (LACF) regulations (21CFR113 and 108.35). Microbiological challenges of the aseptic zone and packaging material sterilization cycles are important components of the validation process. These challenges are often conducted at the production site using non-pathogenic surrogate organisms that mimic the resistance of the pertinent target pathogen. This presentation will provide a brief history of the use of such surrogates for the validation of low-acid aseptic fillers along with the approach we have used to qualify the surrogates as adequate for the intended technology.”