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DEC. JAN. 2021 XIV expert: Katiuscia Consonni, owner of SAS Sicurezza Alimentare System and consultant for catering and companies on food safety issues. “There are no laws, apart from a few ‘regulatory indications’, that say how and when a restaurateur can use these techniques,” she explains. “It is more a matter of responsibility and professionalism for restaurateurs, who must act according to their own self-monitoring plans and on the basis of their own experience. The law obliges the restaurateur to operate in such a way as to reduce risks as much as possible, but does not indicate operational parameters that must be strictly respected”. The advice, therefore, is to operate in a precautionary manner and, since it is not possible to carry out tests to evaluate the actual duration of a food preserved using these techniques, to simplify procedures as much as possible, fixing a single duration for all foods preserved in the same way, whatever they may be. “I know very well,” specifies Consonni, “that, even vacuum-packed or after chilling, fish is more perishable than meat preparation and that white meat is more perishable than red meat, but to simplify the management of expiries I always advise restaurateurs to standardise the duration to protect the most perishable product. For food packaged vacuum- packed or chilled at refrigerator temperature, I suggest to respect the 7 days of preservation, which are already over 48-72h maximum of a ready-made food and simply put in the refrigerator”. The only exception is if you buy a portion of fresh vacuum-packed product (for example meat), decide to portion it and place it immediately under vacuum, without cooking or other operations. “In this case,” she advises, “there is no real or proper handling of the original product, it doesn’t change. For this reason, it is possible to maintain the expiry date indicated on the original packaging. However, I recommend that this operation is carried out immediately after purchase (the delivery note is proof) and that the original label is kept”. The times are longer if you decide to apply the blast chiller at negative temperatures and then store the product at -18°C. “Also in this case, always with a view to simplifying procedures, I recommend storing the products (regardless of the type that may allow them to last longer) for a maximum of 60 days from the date of freezing. This applies to both raw frozen food and pre-cooked food. Vacuum packing does not extend shelf life any longer”. As with vacuum packing, in order to guarantee the healthiness of the food as much as possible, it must be frozen as soon as possible. “It would be wrong,” she underlines, “to freeze a fresh product only when the expiry date indicated on the label is approaching. As I mentioned earlier, the catering operator must do everything possible to minimise the risks and to do so must freeze the product as soon as possible. The freezing procedure must be planned from the moment of purchase, so that the date on which it takes place coincides or is very close to the date of delivery. Even if it is a question of freezing a mix of different products, it is necessary to organise the kitchen so that everything is frozen as quickly as possible”. Speaking of freezing, it is worth remembering that restaurants are not required to use the blast chiller. The important thing is that they have either a freezer or a freezing appliance, different from the one in which frozen food is stored. “In practice, if you adopt this technique you need two freezers, or a blast chiller and a freezer. With the first machine you freeze, with the second one you conserve”. Whatever storage method is chosen, each package must be labelled, indicating the product within, the date of preparation and the date until which the product can be stored. Regarding this, she maintains that: “If it is a vacuum-packed product simply portioned or frozen from fresh, it is necessary to keep the original label together with the delivery note of the product and to indicate the references on the repackaged and preserved product, in order to guarantee traceability. I would like to point out that it is not possible to freeze a fresh product as it is (for example a chicken) in its packaging, but it must be repackaged and relabelled. In fact, if you freeze a chicken in its original packaging on the original label you will find indications such as “to be stored at +4°C, to be consumed within:...”. The frozen product no longer meets these specifications and must therefore be re-labelled. It is in fact a different product because an operation has been carried out that has changed its characteristics”. A VISUAL INSPECTION IS ALL IT TAKES TO CHECK FOR NON- COMPLIANCE During a control by the Inspections Authorities it is very likely that the way in which the products are stored will be checked. “It is not absolutely necessary,” says Consonni, “to carry out a chemical or microbiological analysis to understand if a restaurateur is working according to good hygiene practices. Often an accurate visual check is sufficient to highlight non- compliance”. Checks may concern the correct labelling of vacuum-packed or chilled products and the verification that the label corresponds to that of the original product. “If there are frozen foods in the restaurant,” she concludes, “it is not difficult to verify that the manager has a dedicated freezing appliance, other than the preservation appliance. The excessive presence of frost in the freezer is also a clear indication that the freezer has been misused or overfilled”. If a restaurant carries out storage procedures it must always indicate them in its own self-monitoring manual, which is consulted during inspection. ______________________________ BOX Vacuum: watch out for bubbles In order for the vacuum pack to be effective, the vacuum must be done correctly, avoiding the formation of air bubbles, which would make the operation useless. Therefore, careful visual observation of the vacuum product is necessary. “The same attention,” says Consonni, “is needed when handling vacuum food stored in the refrigerator, because the film could tear or puncture and lose vacuum. For this reason, I always recommend that you check the vacuum goods well when receiving them: even during transport the vacuum may be damaged by careless handling”. Dida Photo: Katiuscia Consonni, owner of SAS Sicurezza Alimentare System and MAGAZINE