Food Process Validation

Food process validation is a procedure used for checking that a process meets the requirements to produce safe food, which means food is free from pathogens. Producing safe food relies on an kill step which is responsible for killing the pathogens in a constant and efficient manner. Different types of kill steps are used by the food industry to achieve such goals, a good number of them relying on heat (baking, roasting, blanching, extrusion, burning etc.) but also chemical interventions like ozone, irradiation etc. Novolyze is able to provide straightforward solutions to select an effective kill step and have it validated. Our range of surrogate organisms are easy-to-use and offer all the advantages of being in a dried form. The compatibility of SurroNov® surrogates has been verified for a wide range of processing technologies, pathogens and food products including:

PATHOGEN

Salmonella,

Listeria,

Cronobacter,

Escherichia coli etc.

PROCESS

Thermal Steps (extrusion, drying, baking, roasting, pasteurizing etc.)
Non-Thermal Steps (HPP, UV, chemicals, etc.)
Sanitation/Cleaning Steps

PRODUCT

Low water activity foods: nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, pet food, feed, cocoa, flour, grains, protein powders, snacks, biscuits etc.
Meat & Poultry, Fish, Beverages etc.

Surrogate bacteria support the process lifecycle

PROCESS EVALUATION

Evaluation of the suitability of a new process at an early stage. Validation work can be performed in collaboration with equipment manufacturers to test the efficacy of a process for new applications.

PROCESS OPTIMIZATION

Identification of an appropriate range of parameters that will achieve the expected level of pathogen inactivation. Validation trials can be either performed at pilot or plant scale.

PROCESS VALIDATION

The official validation of the process efficacy, usually performed directly at the factory, for a legacy or a newly set-up piece of equipment. Process re-validation occurs on a defined periodic basis, or each time a significant change in the processing conditions occurs.

PROCESS VERIFICATION

Verification of the efficacy of a process on a periodic, frequent basis. Confirmation that there has not been any process failure for each processed batch.

SurroNov®

Applications for Low Moisture Foods

Surrogate Selection