552 Chapter 31
After receipt, the goods should be stored
at appropriate temperatures. For lean meat
and fat, the temperature must never exceed
7 ° C, whereas poultry and prepared meats,
edible offal (e.g., liver), and minced meat
must be stored below 4 ° C, 3 ° C and 2 ° C,
respectively (see Regulation [EC] 853/2004 ,
Appendix III). Hence, cold rooms are usually
adjusted to 0 ° to 2 ° C. A device registering
temperature over time should be installed in
cold rooms.Quality Assurance Plans for
Production: General Aspects
Quality - assurance plans for production may
be either “ horizontal ” (i.e., applicable to all
processes) or “ vertical ” (i.e., process - and/or
product - specifi c). Typical horizontal docu-
ments are those on basic hygiene that address
factory environment, buildings, facilities and
equipment, personnel hygiene, cleaning and
disinfection, pest monitoring and control,
waste disposal, temperature controls in
storage or processing rooms, separation
between “ clean ” and “ unclean ” processes,
and staff training (see earlier in this chapter
and Fig. 31.1 ). Process - specifi c plans may
include:- recipes for individual products
- detailed fl ow charts, with links to work
instructions, critical limits, and relevant
standards - HACCP documents (see previous chapter)
- forms for production plans
- monitoring plans (including forms for
recording results and instructions on
control of measurement devices) - a plan for corrective actions to be taken if
a process gets out of control
Monitoring of processes is also required
by standards such as ISO 9001:2008.
Parameters to be recorded may include output- temperature and cleanliness within the
transport vehicle - integrity of containers (if applicable)
- overall appearance of the lean meat and fat
(absence of sensory deviations)
Experienced employees are capable of
assessing the suitability of the raw material
by inspection only (e.g., by checking the
color, odor, surface properties, and texture of
the tissues, parameters that correlate with
water - binding capacity, pH 1 and pH 24 H 24
values of lean meat, and with melting point
and PUFA levels in fat, respectively). To
avoid unnecessary paperwork, it is advisable
to stamp and fi ll in a “ miniature checklist ”
on the delivery note. This list should refer
to the appropriate plan (work instruction) and
contain the date, batch, inspection results,
and, if applicable, corrective measures
taken.
Laboratory examination of samples of raw
materials is important to verify and monitor
the functioning of the quality - assurance
system of the suppliers, thereby enabling
their assessment and selection. For example,
it may be advisable to test incoming car-
casses for the microbiological performance
parameters (total viable counts, Entero-
bacteriaceae , salmonellae) indicated in
Regulation (EC) 2073/2005.
It should be clear from the above discus-
sion that purchase of raw materials is a
complex process that should involve respon-
sible staff from the processing, purchase, and
quality - assurance department. It is essential
that experienced, qualifi ed staff perform
checks of incoming material, as well as sort
it according to its intended use, because
many parameters can only be assessed
through grading by “ subjective ” methods
(sensory examination) rather than “ objec-
tive ” measurements. A standard operation
procedure (SOP) should be in place to orga-
nize the purchase and receipt of raw
materials.