Food safety issues for handling & processing of dairy foods

BLENDING YOGHURT This Fact Sheet has been prepared to provide food safety information to businesses that buy in pre-made yoghurt and blend it with ingredients such as fruit for retail sale for immediate consumption.
Introduction
Yoghurt has a good reputation for safety in Australia The reason for this is t!o"fold #irst$ and %ore i%portantly$ the la&ti& a&id 'a&teria that turn %il( into yoghurt in&rease the a&idity of the yoghurt to the point that organis%s that &ause food 'orne illness do not gro! and in fa&t$ o)er ti%e$ %ay die off *e&ond$ the lo! te%perature at !hi&h yoghurt is stored slo!s the gro!th of 'a&teria$ in&luding those that &ould &ause illness$ if there is a pro'le% !ith the a&idity +ith sale for i%%ediate &onsu%ption there should 'e no %argin for te%perature a'use 'y the &onsu%er$ !hi&h further adds to the inherent safety of the produ&t Nonetheless so%e &onsu%ers !ill ta(e the produ&t ho%e for later &onsu%ption and it is prudent to ta(e this 'eha)iour into a&&ount

Yoghurt Acidity and p

pH is a %eans of %easuring a&idity and it has a s&ale of ,",- A pH of .$ !hi&h is a'out the pH of !ater$ is neutral A pH a'o)e . is al(aline and 'elo! . is a&idi& Ea&h unit of the pH s&ale represents a fa&tor of ,/ 0this is &alled a logarith%i& s&ale1 so that$ &o%pared to a pH of 2$ a pH of 3 is ten ti%es as a&idi& and a pH of - is ,// ti%es as a&idi& The Australia Ne! 4ealand #ood *tandards 5ode re6uires$ to ensure safety$ yoghurt to ha)e a pH of - 3 or less

Yoghurt Storage Temperature

Be&ause of the a&idity$ properly %ade yoghurt !ill not support the gro!th of dangerous 'a&teria and a&&ordingly it is not a re6uire%ent of la! to store it at a parti&ular te%perature for food safety reasons Nonetheless it %a(es sense to store yoghurt at 375 or less *toring at the re&o%%ended te%perature ensures that the yoghurt re%ains fresh o)er the &ourse of its storage life and guards against the gro!th of a&id"tolerant %i&ro"organis%s that$ !hile they are unli(ely to &ause illness$ &an &ause the yoghurt to de)elop off"fla)ours or go %ouldy and spoil

Dairy Authority of *outh Australia

8h 0/91 9::; ::.. #a< 0/91 9:;: :-2; E%ail= dasa>sa &hariot net au Yoghurt Blending Infor%ation " :, No)e%'er :/,,

Food safety issues for handling & processing of dairy foods

BLENDING YOGHURT
Adding Fruits to Yoghurt
Adding fruit pulp or pie&es to yoghurt has the potential to add %i&ro"organis%s that &ould &ause illness or spoil the yoghurt$ espe&ially through the addition of %oulds 5o%%er&ially %ost fruit for 'lending !ith yoghurt is supplied in pasteurised sealed 'ags and should 'e free of dangerous 'a&teria and %oulds Typi&ally$ pa&(s should &o%e !ith a &ertifi&ate of analysis to &onfir% the a'sen&e of &olifor% 'a&teria and %oulds #ortunately too %ost fruits are a&idi& !ith a pH of - 3 or less so their addition should not affe&t the safety of the produ&t ?elons and gua)a ho!e)er %ay ha)e a pH a'o)e - 3 and theoreti&ally &ould in&rease the pH of the yoghurt@fruit 'lend or result in lo! a&id Apat&hesB in the yoghurt !hi&h &ould support the gro!th of dangerous 'a&teria$ should any find their !ay into the 'lended yoghurt A&&ordingly %elon and gua)a fruits %ay need to 'e a&idified 'y the %anufa&turer 'efore pasteurising and pa&(ing to ensure their safety

Adding other Foods to Yoghurt

5ho&olate and &onfe&tionery and nuts are )ery dry foods and do not support the gro!th of %i&ro"organis%s Nuts are a potential sour&e of %oulds and &ould$ parti&ularly if the storage te%perature is not %aintained$ redu&e the shelf life of the yoghurt The presen&e of ea&h nut )ariety added to a 'lend %ust 'e &learly de&lared to assist people !ho %ay ha)e a nut allergy 5are %ust 'e ta(en !ith &leaning and !ith handling e6uip%ent su&h as ladles to ensure that nut residues do not find there !ay into 'lends that are not %eant to &ontain nuts #la)ouring su&h as &ho&olate$ stra!'erry or )anilla should not i%pa&t on the safety or shelf life of the produ&t

!ood "anufacturing #ractices

Despite the a&idity in yoghurt &ontri'uting to its safety good %anufa&turing pra&ti&es 0G?81 %ust 'e o'ser)ed to &ontrol the ris( of %i&ro"organis%s getting into a 'lend and redu&ing its shelf life There is also the ris( that if 'a&teria li(e Salmonella find their !ay into the 'lend they %ay &ause serious illness This is 'e&ause the infe&tious dose of Salmonella is )ery lo! and$ e)en though they &anCt gro! in yoghurt$ if any are present there is a &han&e that they &ould &ause illness In parti&ular$ yoghurt 'lenders should pay attention to the follo!ing G?8 prin&iples= *taff suffering !ith an upset sto%a&h$ espe&ially if there is )o%iting or diarrhoea$ !hi&h %ight 'e the result of a food 'orne illness should not 'e handling food #ood &onta&t surfa&es should 'e &leaned and sanitised 'efore use 5lothing and hair &o)ering should guard against physi&al &onta%inants offending &onsu%ers

Dairy Authority of *outh Australia

8h 0/91 9::; ::.. #a< 0/91 9:;: :-2; E%ail= dasa>sa &hariot net au Yoghurt Blending Infor%ation " :, No)e%'er :/,,