Processing Guide PDF
Processing Guide PDF
Processing Guide PDF
Steven C Seideman
Extension Food Processing Specialist
Institute of Food Science & Engineering
2650 North Young Avenue
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72704
1
FOREWORD
This publication was prepared by Steve Seideman, Extension Food Processing
Specialist of the Institute of Food Science & Engineering at the University of
Arkansas. This guide is designed to provide fundamental information to entrepreneurs,
small food processing businesses and individuals in large food companies who want to
learn more about food processing. Included in this guide is information on basic
business considerations, planning a marketing strategy, processing, food science,
labeling, and regulations. Some of the materials for this guide were drawn from
outside sources and the original authors are identified with this material. The author of
this manual expresses his appreciation to these authors for allowing the use their
material.
The Institute of Food Science & Engineering is part of the Division of
Agriculture, University of Arkansas. It is composed of interactive technology centers
that provide research and extension support for value-added processing of agricultural
products in Arkansas. These centers provide an interdisciplinary focus for programs
and an information pipeline to the food processing industries of Arkansas. Programs
encompass harvesting, handling, processing, packaging and evaluation of food
products.
The Institute's ultimate mission is to provide technical advances in food
processing and packaging that foster safe, efficient, environmentally responsible
processing systems. This mission relates to the public's need for safe, affordable
nutritious food products and the need for economic growth in the state's agricultural
and processing sector.
The information in this guide is designed as a starting point. Since new product
development is both a science and an art and success of a new product is largely
dependent upon timing, perseverance and luck, there is no guarantee that following the
fundamental information contained in this guide will ultimately lead to success.
However, by following the principles set forth in this guide, your probability of
success will be greatly improved.
Further information on food processing can be obtained by going to the
following websites;
http://www.uark.edu/ua/foodpro. - This website has additional information on food
processing and also lists the services that the Institute provides and sources of valuable
information needed to enter the food processing business.
http://www.uark.edu/ua/foodedu- This website contains numerous modules of
fundamental food processing lectures.
There are over 230 food processing plants in Arkansas. Food manufacturing in
Arkansas is an $11b /year business representing 25% of all manufacturing in the state.
Food manufacturing is strong in Arkansas for several reasons. The first is that the labor
pool is good, hard-working and relatively inexpensive compared to some northern
states. Second, Arkansas is a “Right to Work” state meaning that people who work in
these processing facilities do not have to join a labor union. Third is the fact that there
is an excellent interstate road system that crisscrosses the state. Fourth is the fact that
there are plenty of commodities to process. And fifth is that Arkansas is centrally
located in United States with easy access to any market in any direction.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This guide was compiled from a variety of sources and I would like to express
appreciation to the authors of these works for allowing me to use their materials.
Appreciation is also expressed to those people who lent their expertise in reviewing the
information presented.
This guide was started with material from the book entitled “Starting a Food
Processing Business” by Luke Howard and Pam Brady. Some sections of that book
have been used in this guide. In addition, some sections of this guide have been
adapted from fact-sheets and other materials. Acknowledgements are given to the
original authors at the beginning of these sections.
The purpose of this guide is to put information and contacts at the fingertips of
Arkansas food processors and manufacturers. We hope you will use this as a guide in
your efforts to promote quality and value-added food products in the state of Arkansas.
The names of companies, laboratories, government agencies and food
processing companies have been compiled from several sources believed to be
reliable. However, we assume no liability for errors or omissions. Nor do we endorse
one company over another, or necessarily recommend the use of these companies.
Please note that the companies and associations listed herein are for the convenience of
the guide users. The University of Arkansas does not recommend any specific
company and is not held liable for any company.
Links to commercial sites are provided for information and convenience only.
Inclusion of sites does not imply University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's
approval of their product or service to the exclusion of others that may be similar, nor
does it guarantee or warrant the standard of the products or service offered. The
mention of any commercial product in this web site does not imply its endorsement by
the University of Arkansas over other products not named, nor does the omission
imply that they are not satisfactory.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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I. HACCP 107
J. Bioterrorism 111
5) Organization/ Operations/ Management 115
A. Introduction 115
B. Organization of a Food Company 115
C. Operations of a Food Processing Plant 120
D. Copacking of Food Products 128
E. Crisis Management 131
6) Food Processing and Equipment 141
A. Introduction 141
B. Food Processing 141
C. Food Processing Equipment 145
D. Finding Food Equipment 147
7) Food Product Labeling, Additives and Ingredients and 148
Packaging
A. Introduction 148
B. The Basics of Food Labeling 148
C. Nutritional Labeling 152
D. Other Label Components 154
E. Food Ingredients, Additives and GRAS 158
F. Food Packaging 165
G. Label Design and Packaging 172
8) Food Processing Regulations 173
A. Introduction 173
B. History of Food Regulations and Major Legislation 173
C. Food Processing Regulations- General 174
D. FDA Regulations 175
E. USDA Regulations 176
F. Ingredient Uses in Food Products 177
G. Local Contacts 177
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1. Starting A Food Business- An Overview
A) Introduction;
B) The Product;
C) The Business Plan;
D) Manufacturing/ Operations/ Regulations;
E) Label Design and Packaging;
F) Going to Market;
G) Assistance;
H) Checklist for Entrepreneurs
A) Introduction;
This chapter is a general overview of the field of starting a food business.
The road to developing a successful new food product can be somewhat confusing
and long. This guide can be used to make the journey easier to understand. This
first chapter goes through some of the key things one must do to start the journey
and is written to help you understand the “big picture”. The details of the
components of this first chapter are discussed in subsequent chapters in greater
detail.
B) The Product;
The first step in starting a food processing business is to have a food product
concept or idea. The concept or idea can be either a particular product or a new and
innovative processing method. The idea or concept doesn’t have to be perfect to
begin with. You just need to just get started on something. Your original idea or
concept will probably change several times as you develop your business plan and
get to know the business. So just start with any idea and move forward.
Your idea could put more people to work and you may be the kind of person
this country needs to compete in world markets and maintain its standard of living.
Your idea may be the cutting edge of the future. In general, food products with just
a different flavor do not have a high success rate because they can be easily
matched by spice companies. Anyone can go into a store, buy your product and
match the flavor within a matter of weeks. On the other hand, the restaurant trade
is always looking for food products that they can just heat and serve. They may
have an interest in a new food item. Just start with a concept or idea knowing it
does not have to be the ultimate idea. Remember that ideas are “a dime a dozen”.
This means that your idea for a new product is not the key to success. I agree you
have to have a good idea but companies with good ideas fail all the time. You have
to have knowledge of the business, certain skills necessary to run the business,
have family support for the first 3-5 years to get your business off the ground.
Perseverance and some luck are also needed. All of these things will have to flow
forward over the first few years of your business.
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C) The Business Plan;
After you have come up with an idea for a new food product or processing
method, the next step is to develop a business plan. Sample business plan outlines
are available on the internet and are discussed in a later chapter. The writing of a
business plan is the most important part of the whole process of developing a new
food product or process but often neglected and is probably why most new food
products fail in the marketplace. The concept of developing a business plan is to
write down your thoughts and review them frequently with ever increasing detail. I
could see a person working on a business plan for 5-6 months. The idea is to plan
your new business in every detail so that you minimize the probability of wasting
money. Once you have started writing the plan, you will realize that there are areas
that you don’t know about. Try to find people who can help you in areas that you
are unfamiliar with. Get assistance wherever you can. There are a number of
sections of a business plan that I do not think are initially important but there are
others that tend to be the central focus of the whole new product development
scheme. The most important aspect of the business plan is how you plan to market
your new food product. You must clearly define such elements as “defining your
customer” and why should a potential customer pick up your product versus a
competition”. Other important elements include “how you plan to manufacture the
product and distribute it” but these are not as important as getting potential
customers to pick up your product and try it. I often hear people say that my
product tastes real good. That is good but how will potential customers know that
it tastes good unless they pick it up and try it. If you cannot market and sell your
product, you do not have a viable business.
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E) Label Design and Packaging;
Food products must look good and in a package that consumers recognize.
The label design and color can have a tremendous impact on how well a food
product sells. I suggest that entrepreneurs find and utilize a graphic design
company that understands visual literacy and how customers tend to shop with
their eyes. In today’s world with computer graphics, it is so easy to do it yourself
but you may not understand the customer as well as you think. Remember to
include the nutritional label, UPC code and a product code for tracking your
product. Maybe you should consider having the name of the product or logo
trademarked. Aside from the government requirements and the buyer’s
requirements, there are things you must be cognizant of to effectively “romanticize
your product” and to entice potential customers to pick up and try your product.
When it comes to the actual package of the product, remember to package it in a
form that the customer can identify with. For example, customers are used to
buying bread in plastic bags so don’t package it in a can.
F) Going to Market;
Once you have all the above mentioned items completed, you are ready to “go
to market”. Get some samples made to take out and show buyers who represent
stores or restaurants. Set up appointments with product buyers. Maybe hire a
professional sales person to make the presentation. After you have the order,
implement your business plan. You can never have enough customers. Continue to
refine your business plan and make more sales calls. You can never have enough
business.
E) Assistance;
As an entrepreneur, you have many places to go for assistance. The federal and
state governments want you to be successful so you can pay more taxes so they
have institutions that provide assistance at no or minimum costs. For food product
technical assistance, contact the Institute of Food Science and Engineering at the
University of Arkansas. For business plan development, contact the Arkansas
Small Business Development Center. Remember the old adage “Success breeds
success” and successful people want to help others become successful. There are
many people out there in the world who have been successful and would like to
help others. They will help you in ways you would never imagine. Successful
people are always helping others. Seek out these people, take them to lunch and
most of them will tell you everything they know. They can provide you with a lot
of important tips. The information age is upon us. The internet makes information
readily available delivered to our home. There is a tremendous amount of
information that is available for your use if you know where to find it.
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things but this checklist covers some of what I consider the most important
elements in the development and marketing of a new food product. Use of these
elements should increase your odds of success. As previously mentioned, new
product development is not an exact science but also a discipline that requires
some personality traits such as passion, persistence etc. Therefore, we cannot
guarantee success by the use of our suggestions. You still have to provide the
personality and perseverance.
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Table 1.1: CHECKLIST FOR NEW PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
2 Conduct a “Reality 1) Talk to some people in your area that are doing
Check” something similar.
2) Conduct internet searches on the subject. Find out
what has been going on in the area.
3) Determine if you can apply some new technology to
the processing.
3 Attend some 1) The ASBDC has numerous courses conduct
“Arkansas Small throughout Arkansas. I highly recommend that you take
Business the following courses 1) Starting a Business in
Development” Arkansas, 2) How to Write a Business Plan and 3)
courses Guerrilla Marketing. There are other ones that may also
be of interest to you. For more information on these
workshops and many other resources, go to the
ASBDC website at; http://www.asbdc.ualr.edu/.
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these resources as needed.
2 Start developing a 1) Write down your idea and think about who will buy
business plan your product and why. What need does it fill?.
2) Start writing a business plan with emphasis on
describing your product (the product, sales channel,
trend, who is the end user, etc), Who is the
competition?, What does the market look like?, What is
your cost to produce?, etc.
3) The process of developing a business plan will
increase your knowledge of the industry and your
passion for the business will build.
4) Work on it several times per week. Think big.
5) Talk about your product to people in the industry.
Go where food people hang out. Successful people
have a habit of helping others.
6) Use available assistance
7) Learn the business
8) Spend 3-6 months in this phase of writing a business
plan. Call it “minimal risk taking”.
9) Define your marketing strategy. This is very
important. It is how you will “go to market”. What
promotional tools will you use? Coupons, advertising
mode (TV, newspaper,). How will people know about
your product? Use guerrilla marketing. What is your
pricing strategy? Develop sales information and “point
of sale” material. Make a sales target list. Conduct
market research. etc
10) Learn more about federal, state and local
regulations, permits needed, type of business, etc
3 Decide on your You need to decide how your product will be packaged.
packaging option This may be dependent upon whether a copacker can
package it the way you want.
4 Decide on a
manufacturing
mode
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5) Get test batch made.
4 Design package 1) Decide how you want your label to look for
label maximum consumer appeal.
2) Make sure to include the 5 mandatory parts required
by federal regulations and any other that may be
needed.
3) Get UPC code if needed or desired.
4) Do a pricing on your product
5 Get Sales 1) Try to sell your product. Go everywhere. Doors will
be slammed in your face. Live with it.
2) Continue to refine marketing strategy the rest of
your life.
3) Sell to everyone, everywhere. Never stop.
4) Everyday, try to call on at least one possible
customer.
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2. Developing Food Products for a Changing
Marketplace
A) Introduction;
B) Getting Market Share;
C) Entrepreneurship;
D) The Product;
E) Understanding the Business;
F) Food Channels/ Distribution;
G) Value-added foods;
H) Food Product Development;
I) Innovation as a Competitive Strategy;
A) Introduction;
This chapter is for people who are interested in starting a food processing
business or learning more about how to get a food product on the market. It will assist
you in the process of getting started with helpful hints and suggestions to make your
journey easier. Everyday people come up with ideas for food products that they think
may have a market. Some of these ideas are simply an old family recipe for a salsa,
barbeque sauce or something that friends have encouraged them to market. Some of
these ideas involve totally new products that may have a market. Almost every major
food company in existence today started with someone in your situation- an
entrepreneur.
Before you get too excited about marketing a new product, you need to be
aware for some statistics. There are over 15,000 new food products introduced to the
marketplace each year. Only about 10% of them last more than one year and about 2%
of them ever return the investment made to introduce them to the marketplace. As a
future entrepreneur, you need to be aware of these statistics and make prudent,
minimal-risk taking decisions that get you where you want to go.
There is a more positive view to product development. This positive viewpoint
says that 4-5 food manufacturers make 80-90% of the food. That leaves somewhere
between 10-20% of the market open to small businesses that cater to a specific
customer base. This niche market is too small for major food companies to play in so it
is wide open to small businesses and entrepreneurs. There has never been a better time
to start your own business. Major consolidation continues by large corporations in
many industries creating profitable niches for new businesses to fill. The advances
being made in technology and the Internet have created entirely new industries for
business products and services, which are still relatively untapped.
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habit”. This means they tend to eat the same foods over and over again. The daily
menu will change but they tend to primarily eat certain foods with some frequency.
They tend to eat what they are accustomed to and often chose brands they are familiar
with. In any retail food store, there are literally thousands of types and brands of food.
So how are you going to get a potential customer to pick up your product? Why should
they pick up your product versus the competition? If you have great tasting product,
how will the potential customer ever know it until they pick it up, purchase it, take it
home and try it? Your whole focus in working with a new product should be about
what you are going to do to get a potential customer to pick up your product and try it.
Many would-be food entrepreneurs call me about a great recipe they have for a
product and are eager to build a facility to start manufacturing it. This would be a
mistake. You can get your product co-packed by someone else who already makes
similar products sparing you the expense of building a facility costing a minimum of
$100,000. The emphasis for an entrepreneur should be in the areas of marketing and
selling the product. It is the hardest thing to do but also the most profitable. Let me
reemphasize this one point. You can get your food product co-packed relatively cheap.
Your time, money and energy are best spent on marketing and selling your product.
You may have a great product, but it will not sell itself. Somehow, you have to let
people know it is available and where to get it. If you cannot sell your product, you do
not have a business. We will discuss this in more detail in Chapter 3 of this guide
under the subject of marketing.
C) Entrepreneurship;
An Entrepreneur is a person who organizes, operates and assumes the risks for
business ventures or more simply stated a person who owns an enterprise.
Entrepreneurship is one of the most important engines that drive our country’s
economy. Through entrepreneurship, new ideas are turned into new business products,
new ways are discovered to provide services to people and entirely new industries are
created. In recent years, the businesses of successful entrepreneurs have not only
contributed to economic vitality, but have also created most of the new jobs that
employ the people of this country. Drive down a city business street sometime and
look at all the small businesses that exist in a community. Most people are of the belief
that big companies employ the vast majority of Americans that work, but the converse
is true. Most Americans work for smaller, locally or regionally owned companies. In
almost every State of the Union speech, the President of the United States talks about
encouraging “entrepreneurship”. The federal government and most states have
numerous organizations to help people start businesses. You probably are asking why
are federal and state agencies so interested in helping entrepreneurs? The answer is
plain and simple. Entrepreneurs create jobs, and people that have jobs pay taxes. Taxes
are what keep our government providing goods and services such as roads, schools,
police, fire protection, etc. So by helping you become profitable, they increase the
amount of taxes received from both you and your employees and make governments
more financially able to provide services.
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Entrepreneurial Personality
Entrepreneurs have a certain personality that drives them. Everyone encounters
problems every day. Problems tend to frustrate, confuse and annoy most people, but to
an entrepreneur, they view problems as opportunities and start to look for solutions.
They are truly problem-solvers. There are always wants and desires in our advancing
society and resourceful entrepreneurs will seek solutions for them. Entrepreneurs
recognize opportunities and take action. Not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur.
It is hard work and takes courage but the rewards are usually commensurate with the
effort. There are some signs of having an entrepreneurial spirit that have proven to be
somewhat accurate over time.
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inventing genius. He was also a promoting genius, a publicity genius, a capital-
raising genius and a genius at seeing potential markets for inventions. Have
you ever heard of Joseph Swan? A strong case could be made for saying he
invented the electric light eight months before Edison. Who got the patents?
Who got the bulb to the market? Edison. Who invented the electric light bulb?
Edison. Few of us are Edisons. We may have brilliant product ideas, but we
aren't usually knowledgeable, let alone brilliant, in all of the areas that need to
be covered
6 Assistance- There are many organizations that provide expertise or assistance
to entrepreneurs. You have to know where to find and utilize them.
7 Personality traits such as ;
Risk-taker
Adventurer
Courageous
Confident
Competitive
Visionary
High energy level
.
Let’s look at some big name entrepreneurs and what they did. Some of the
most successful entrepreneurs include Wally Amos (cookies), Mary Kay Ash
(cosmetics), Henry Block (income tax), Debra Fields (Mrs Fields Cookies), Henry
Ford (cars), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Leon Gorman (L.L.Bean), Ray Kroc(McDonalds),
J. Willard Marriott (hotels), Don Tyson (meat processing), and Sam Walton
(Walmart). There are literally thousands more but these are ones we encounter quite
frequently.
These entrepreneurs had a certain philosophy. Most of them were not necessarily
brilliant, but they did have a passion for the business. They found ways of delivering
goods and/or services to people who wanted those services and were willing to pay for
them. The next time you go into a food store, look at all the new products on the
shelves. One hundred years ago, everything was sold as a commodity. Now, the word
“value-added” is hot, whereby entrepreneurs have found ways to make products more
convenient to the consumer. They have literally added value and the corresponding
price is substantially higher than the commodity from which it was derived.
Where do ideas for new products come from? Ideas are “a dime a dozen”.
Everyone has ideas on how to do something cheaper, easier, faster, etc. than what is on
the market. The difference is that entrepreneurs make their ideas become realities. For
example, take Famous Amos Cookies. Anyone can make cookies but he took his
cookies to the marketplace where people who don’t have time to bake can buy them.
Mary Kay Ash simply took upscale cosmetics, promoted parties and built a loyal sales
staff. Leon Gorman of L.L. Bean fame took upscale outdoor clothing and built an
excellent mail-order business. By now, you are thinking these were not technological
break-through ideas but simply doing a concept and doing it well. Therefore, the
concept or idea you come up with doesn’t have to be the big, break-through thing the
world has been waiting for. You have to have a passion for the business. Without the
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passion, the probability for success is very low. Most people want to think that if I
have one big idea, I will become rich and famous. It is not the idea as much as the
passion and other personality traits that are needed to drive down the road of success. I
think we need to redefine the word genius in terms of success. Thomas Edison said
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Entrepreneurial Thinking
Entrepreneurial thinking is about recognizing opportunities in the marketplace
and understanding how and when to capitalize on them. Becoming an entrepreneur is
not necessarily an inherent trait. It takes time to train ones self to use your talents and
experience to see opportunities where others do not. Each individual possesses a
different perspective on products they would find useful and services they would like
to see perform differently. It can often be just as profitable to improve upon an existing
business. The advantage here is that you can learn from the mistakes of competing
companies while still borrowing the positive aspects of their business for your own.
Whether starting a completely new type of business or expanding on current ideas
already in the marketplace, the key is learning to use your unique perspective to
produce a product or service that provides increased value to potential customers.
Entrepreneurial thinking is relatively easy to learn. It involves training your
mind to look at products and services in a different way and understanding how to
improve upon them. How would you change the way a company you are familiar with
is currently conducting business? Are there complimentary products or services that
you feel would be of value to the same target market? Train yourself to be
continuously learning about and evaluating other types of businesses. This is how to
create ideas of your own and gain valuable insight into an industry. Project your
understanding of a given industry into the future to get an idea for what types of
products and services will be desired down the road. The marketplace of every
industry is continuously changing, and those that have the foresight, ingenuity, and
desire have the potential to capitalize on the opportunities that develop.
Although starting a business is never a sure thing in terms of success and
prosperity, entrepreneurial thinking teaches you to capitalize on opportunities in your
current job and other areas of your life as well. All of this does not mean that you
should quit your job today. However, you should begin trying to lay the seeds for a
type of business that interests you. What is it that you enjoy doing or have experience
with? What demands are currently not being met in the marketplace? Why are
companies not already doing this? The marketplace is full of opportunities and those
that choose to take on the challenge give themselves the chance to create a type of
wealth, happiness, and security that can be achieved by starting your own business.
Companies such as Yahoo, Amazon.com, and eBay were founded only a few
short years ago and have enjoyed enormous success in their industry by generating
significant value for their customers. These companies and many others often start in
someone’s basement, garage, or dormitory. Being an entrepreneur has nothing to do
with age, gender, race or education. Everyone must start somewhere, and those that
have the drive and ambition to build their idea into a reality give themselves the
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chance for unparalleled success.
Starting a business is not something that happens overnight. However, it is
probably not as difficult as you might imagine. The Internet has brought a wealth of
information to your fingertips, if you know where to look for it. You can access
information on almost every topic of interest to an entrepreneur by simply performing
a search on any of the search engines. Speak with other individuals who have started
their own business. They will provide you with a wealth of insight and possibly some
useful contacts.
It is never too soon to begin contemplating starting your own business. This
will only encourage your development as an entrepreneur and help open your eyes to
opportunities in the marketplace that you never knew existed. The key is to believe in
yourself, your idea and have the desire and passion to make it into a reality.
D) The Product;
The first step in starting a food business is to have a food product concept or idea.
The concept or idea can be either a particular product or a new and innovative
processing method. The idea or concept doesn’t have to be perfect to begin with, just
get started on something. Your idea or concept will probably change several times as
you develop your business plan and get to know the business. So just start with any
idea and move forward.
Your idea could put more people to work and you may be the kind of person
this country needs to compete in world markets and maintain its standard of living.
Your idea may be the cutting edge of the future. In general, food products with just a
different flavor do not have a high success rate because they can be easily matched by
spice companies. Anyone can go into a store, buy your product and match the flavor
within a matter of weeks. On the other hand, the restaurant trade is always looking for
food products that they can just heat and serve. They may have an interest in a new
food item. Just start with a concept or idea knowing it does not have to be the ultimate
idea. Remember that ideas are “a dime a dozen”. This means that your idea for a new
product is not the key to success. I agree you have to have a good idea but companies
with good ideas fail all the time. You have to have knowledge of the business, certain
skills necessary to run the business and have family support for the first 3-5 years to
get your business off the ground. Perseverance and some luck are also needed. All of
these things will have to flow forward over the first few years of your business.
Most people who are thinking about starting a food processing business are
concerned about the big companies and how they cannot compete with them. It is true
that they probably cannot compete with them on price. Big companies have high
speed/high volume lines that can make products fairly inexpensively. As a general
rule, no matter who the product whether it be car, computers etc, 4 to 5 manufacturing
companies control 80-90% of the market. This means that somewhere between 10-
20% of the market is open to small companies. We call this a “niche market” because
we are catering to a particular kind of customer that has the money and the desire to
pay more for something to get what they perceive as a better value. Your product idea
should be one targeting these niche groups. The market is generally considered too
18
small for large companies to go after so you don’t have to compete on price. For
example, suppose you created a tomato juice beverage and called it “Razorback Juice”.
There would probably be a market for it in Arkansas but not in the surrounding states
so big beverage processors would not even try to make such a beverage. In addition,
there is a mood in America now to distrust the big companies and buy from the small
processors. This explains the tremendous success of farmers markets and how they can
charge twice the price of the major food stores.
The food idea or concept you come up with will need to be screened by one for
what one might call a “reality check”. Listed below are the questions you need to ask
yourself to do a reality check.
1) Is it original or has someone else already come up with it?
2) Can somebody produce and distribute it?
3) Will it really make money?
4) Will someone buy it?
5) Can you protect your idea?
Although a modest list, the problems arise from the dozens of underlying questions
that must be answered before the major questions can be resolved. Here, for example
are the 33 areas that the University of Oregon's Innovation Center runs each submitted
idea through to determine if it has commercial merit:
Some entrepreneurs worry that they cannot compete with the big
manufacturers. Understand that businesses, over time, will evolve. The big food
companies of 50 years ago have gone by the wayside and the next generation of
businesses have taken over their territory. Remember the big food retailers of the
1950s and 1960s- A&P and Kroger? They are not nearly as large as they once were
due to other food retailers like Albertsons, Ralph’s, Walmart, Wegman’s that were
entrepreneurs in the 1950s and 1960s. Bigger is not always better. The economies of
production go up as a company gets bigger but big companies tend to lose sight of the
customer, get sidetracked, lose their competitive edge or get tied up in big labor
contracts etc.
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Some people have suggested that they cannot compete in new food products
because large companies have huge research and development staffs that have the
power to be truly creative. This is a false assumption. For the most part, the best and
most creative ideas seem to come from individuals. I have read lots of stories about
projects that began in someone’s basement or what are called in industry “skunkworks
projects”. In general, they are just too big a step for big companies to believe in. As the
discoverer of penicillin, Sir Alexander Fleming, said, "It is the lone worker who makes
the first advance in a subject: The details may be worked out by a team, but the prime
idea is due to the enterprise, thought and perception of an individual." Big companies
also worry about their pride. There is a fear that exists of something new. Nobody
wants to be first. Everybody wants to be second. So everyday, individuals are creating
totally new products on their own.
Understanding Production
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I have categorized the elements of this area as working knowledge of
production, the customer and the market. The details of each of these are shown in
Table 2-1. As an entrepreneur, you will need to know these to some extent. As a
company grows in size, one needs to be more knowledgeable in the details and often
hires specialists to manage them in greater detail.
The knowledge of production means you are knowledgeable in the various
aspects of getting food products manufactured that include everything from the
knowledge of raw material markets, government regulations, and distribution networks
to processing equipment. (See Table 2-1).
The knowledge of the customer is about knowing who the potential customer
is and what we call the “demographics of the customer”. The target customer is who
we think will want to buy our products. We want to know everything about that target
customer so we can focus our marketing efforts in an effective and efficient manner.
When you buy a power tool or appliance, there is often a warranty card in the box. The
idea is, you fill out the warranty card and they guarantee the product for a certain
amount of time. Notice in the warranty card they ask for some seemingly unimportant
details like yearly income, number of people in the household, age etc. What they are
doing is accumulating demographic information to target their product better in the
future. You also need to figure out initially who your customer is. Are you aiming your
product to upper class career people who don’t have time to cook a meal or to
children? The more you know about who you are targeting as a customer, the more
you can design your product to their needs and desires. Overall, I would describe
today’s consumer as being more demanding, more adventurous, having more
disposable income and being starved for time and a “want it now” mentality compared
to people 20 years ago. In addition, older consumers are sick of self-denial and
younger consumers often lead a more decadent lifestyle. Just knowing these little
pieces of customer knowledge can help you design products for whichever market
group you want to target.
The next category is that of understanding the market. Some of the details in
this category blend in with those of understanding the customer. In this area, you want
to understand who your competition is, what they charge, how they package and
promote their product, etc. To learn about this area, you may want to spend some time
in a supermarket seeing how the potential competition promotes their products such as
the use of coupons, recipe ideas, etc.
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Table 2-1; Understanding the Business
22
best interests in mind but are also interested in addressing restaurant concerns such as
food safety and the shortage of good labor.
The retail channel represents food stores like Walmart, Kroger, Dillons, etc. They
are very consumer oriented because they sell directly to the ultimate consumer. They
tend to be very “heavy up” on marketing with competitors all trying to get customers
to buy their product at the exclusion of the competition. It is a very crowded market
and exceedingly competitive. Walk down the cereals section of a food store and notice
the number of types and brands of breakfast cereals. The average food store carries 70
to 90 types and brands of breakfast cereal.
The food service channel includes restaurants from fast food establishments up
to fine table clothe restaurants. This is, by far, the largest growing segment of the food
industry. Over one-half of the meals served in the United States today are meals eaten
away from home and this trend is not predicted to reverse anytime in the near future
because the average older consumer is starved for time. In addition, younger people do
not possess the cooking skills that their parents had. A survey was conducted recently
to determine the attitudes toward cooking of several age groups. The results are shown
in Table 2-2. As you can see, younger people are just not that astute about cooking.
The food service channel is fertile ground for entrepreneurs. The retail market
is just too crowded and competitive. Most restaurants use food distributors to deliver
foods on a daily basis. Some restaurants use full service distributors like Sysco and
U.S. FoodService to get their food products delivered while others use independent
brokers. Restaurants want items that reduce the probability of a food safety incident
and items that reduce the labor “in the backroom”. (e.g. precooked, preportioned,
premarinated, etc). In the food safety arena, restaurants are fearful of lawsuits from
customers getting sick from E. Coli, Listeria, Salmonella and other harmful pathogens.
An incident like that of “Jack in the Box” and other more recent episodes can ruin a
restaurant. Restaurants are also experiencing labor problems. They often have up to
90% turnover of employees per year and the quality of the labor pool is down due to
low wages and benefits. Correspondingly, restaurants want food items that are
precooked and further processed to reduce labor in the kitchen.
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G) Value-Added Foods;
“Value-added” food is defined as “Food items whose value has been increased
through refinement, the addition of ingredients, processing or packaging that makes
the whole more attractive to the buyer or readily usable by the consumer than the
initial commodity”. We live in a “Value-Added” society. Many of our grandparents or
great grandparents raised their own hogs and chickens, grew produce in a garden,
made their own furniture and probably made their own farm implements. In our
current society and because of the industrial revolution, it is now cheaper and easier to
buy pork, eggs, produce, furniture and farm implements than it is to make it yourself.
Because of technology, mass production, strategic purchasing etc, Americans live in a
value-added society. Americans have a love affair with value-added. They can get
what they want, when they want it and at a cheaper price than doing it themselves. No
matter how you look at it, “convenience sells”. Have you been to a food store lately?
Look at all the choices there are of various products. Value-added products include
anything that is further processed above the commodity itself. Let’s take the dairy field
as an example of value added products. The dairy field is, by far, the most innovative
food product area. They start with raw milk and make numerous products to include
1%, 2%, skim milk, ice cream, yogurt, and cheeses from cottage cheese to various
flavors (cheddar, swiss, colby etc) and they slice it, dice it, shred it and even
individually wrap slices. Don’t forget that milk is homogenized and pasteurized-
things you don’t have to do. These are all examples of “value added” foods.
I have some observations on value added foods. Note that almost everything we
buy is “value-added”. Note also that the price charged for adding value is substantially
more than the price for the raw commodity.
So how does the entrepreneur cash in on value-added foods? High speed,
efficient food processing equipment is expensive but saves on labor in the long run. As
an individual, you will have to just get started preferably using a copacker who has
some high speed equipment and slowly build your business focusing on a niche
market. It may take several years. After you have some initial success, you may want
to find some venture capitalists to invest in your business. Farmers have been known
to form cooperatives to pool their raw commodities and control the processing aspect
to their benefit. Examples of successful cooperatives include Ocean Spray, Welch’s,
and Sunkist. At any rate, you will need to start somewhere and that is with an idea.
Come up with an idea and find a way to do it better, cheaper or more efficiently than
the competition. Technology and creativity are your keys to success. Technology is
coming at us faster than ever before. Older, more established companies are more
hesitant to adopt new technology. Creativity abounds in people without regard to
education or income but can be substantially amplified via marketing.
I have some suggestions for value-added food products. Watch out for the old
“cheaper is better” philosophy. Customers have money and they are willing to pay for
quality. They tend to stay away from cheap foods with the idea that “You get what you
pay for”. Watch for the reemergence of “Comfort Foods”. These are foods that
wealthy people who now have the money can afford that takes them back to the foods
served by their mothers. They include such products as whole muscle ham, meatloaf,
pot roast and sandwiches. Flavor profiles of existing products are also constantly
changing. Young people don’t identify with Italian. Grilled flavored products are in
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style. Some health issues are fading as people go back to fat steaks, cigars and pizzas.
There is a health market out there and it is growing but as with any trend, it may go
back down at any time. If you are a smaller business, remember to reexamine your
product lines every 2-3 years to make sure it is relevant to today’s dynamic consumer.
May I say a few words about the marketing value-added foods. Facts do not
sell a product. Emotions sell products. Watch some TV commercials sometime and try
to understand the message. They usually are not based on the facts of the product but
on the emotion they want you to have when you buy their product. For example,
brand X pants are not sold on the strength of the material or stitching but how well
people who wear them entice members of the opposite sex. This may sound ridiculous
but it works. I often hear this referred to as “Romanticizing the Product”. That is to
say, make it emotionally appealing in some way to the customer. People do not buy
products on quality as much as their perception of what the product will do for them.
Wearing a famous brand of pants will make you fit into a certain group of people. A
good dinner makes the housewife look good to her family. The three keys to successful
value-added food products are;
1) Give the customer what they want and at a price they are willing to pay.
2) Do it cheaper, better or differently than the competition.
3) Market your product better than the competition.
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Figure 2-2; The Food Product Development Chain
26
Let’s go through each step of the elements in Figure 2-3.
Step #1; Start with an idea. It doesn’t have to be a great idea, just something to start
on.
Step #2; Conduct your own reality check. A reality check is where you do some
critical thinking about your initial idea. In this step, you ask yourself the following
questions and seek answers before going to step #3. The series of questions can be
divided in one of three categories ( Marketing, Management and Money).
Marketing
1) Who will use your product?
2) How will it be used?
3) What preparation is necessary?
4) How will the consumer benefit from it?
5) Does it have any other uses?
6) Who is the competition and what is the price and size available?
7) How is your product different from the competition?
8) Where will your product be available?
9) How will people find out about your product?
10) What will the price be?
Management;
1) Regulatory –
a) What agency has jurisdiction over the products I plan to make
(USDA or FDA)
b) What are the regulations in processing, labeling, etc
c) What are the local/ state regulations regarding business structure,
zoning, etc.
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Money
Before a value-added food product is created for sale an understanding of all
costs of production and marketing the product is required. You should have a detailed
cost analysis made before the product is manufactured. There are two types of costs to
consider: fixed costs and variable costs. Annual fixed costs are those that will not
change in any one year regardless of the level of production. They include equipment,
building, property taxes, manager's salary, insurance, and any other item that, once
purchased, will not fluctuate due to changes in production levels.
Variable costs are expenditures that will vary with the volume of production,
such as hired labor, raw ingredients, packaging materials, fuel, electricity, utilities, and
all other items that are used during production.
Step #3; Write a business plan. This is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3. Most
of the elements you collected in Step #2 will be used in writing the business plan.
Step #4; Make prototype samples. It is suggested that you go to a copacker and have
samples made up to use to do a small test market.
Step #5; Conduct a small test market. In this step, you want to get your prototype
samples in the hands of people that will ultimately use the product. You can either give
away free samples with a questionnaire, take the samples to a focus group or actually
sell some of your product. You are interested in what these potential customers think
of your product and work out any bugs. Your product may need some fine tuning or
“tweeking”. Your market test will be much more useful if you plan it well in advance
with the help of an expert in the field. Ask for assistance from the Small Business
Development Center in your area to help plan and interpret the results of your test.
Step #6; Manufacture a small batch; If the test market stage went well, you need to
have some more samples made up to take to customers.
Step #7; Get customers. In this step, we are defining customers as food store or
restaurant buyers. You need to take in samples to these prospective buyers for a sales
presentation. You may also need to present your marketing plan and other promotional
programs such as coupons, advertising plan etc to potential buyers.
Step #8; Go into full scale commercialization; If you were successful in step #7, you
should have an order to fill. This means you have to get product made and sent to the
retail store or restaurant. You should then be interested in product maintenance. This
should concentrate on 2 things.
a. Quality improvement
Look for any potential defects in the product as it is handled through distribution and
display, and adjust your formula or processing procedures to remedy the problem.
Also, solicit consumer response to help you identify alternative flavors or packaging.
b. Profit improvement
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This will be achieved mainly by cutting your costs rather than raising the price of your
product. Investigate ways to improve process efficiency, save on labor costs, and find
alternate suppliers of ingredients.
New Products;
When a new food product is developed, the cost of development and marketing
often result in a loss for the food company. Figure 2-4 shows the life span of a new
food product from its development to its final senility. Notice that a new food product
initially losses money, then become profitable for some time and eventually becomes
less profitable primarily due to competition. Therefore, once you get a new product on
the market, it is immediately time to start on another one.
Figure 2-4; The Cost and Life Span of a New Food Product
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3. Business Considerations/ Business Plans/ Marketing
A) Introduction;
B) Business Blueprints;
C) Business Planning/ Plans;
D) Organizing your Business;
E) Marketing your Product;
F) Guerrilla Marketing
G) Pricing your Product
H) Product Sales
A) Introduction;
Most entrepreneurs fail not because of the product they are trying to introduce but
because they run out of money before they become successful. This is usually the
result of failure to plan their business or writing a business plan. This chapter deals
with some of the business aspects of starting a new business including some of the
parts of the important business plan. The Arkansas Small Business Development
Centers should be on top of your list of organizations to go to for help. Most of their
assistance is free or very low in cost. I strongly suggest that everyone take their
seminars on 1) Start a Business in Arkansas, 2) Writing a Business Plan, and 3)
Guerrilla Marketing. I also suggest you get their publications entitled “Business
Blueprints; Is Your Business Idea Feasible?” and “New Venture Guide”. These are
excellent reference books for entrepreneurs. .
B. Business Blueprints;
To most people, the idea of a new food product or process is the only thing
that matters. This is not true. I have seen and continue to see what I would consider
bad ideas come forth and become successful. I also see great ideas of products and
processes fail. In general, a successful business has three parts; Market, Management
and Money.
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Market:
"Is there a market for my product or service?" You need to determine if you
have a market for your product. Without customers that will buy your product or
service in sufficient numbers and at a high enough price to provide a profit, the
business will fail.
Management:
"Can I bring this product to market?" Products or services, however inherently
attractive, do not sell themselves or manage businesses. You must be able to
demonstrate to yourself and others that you have sufficient skill and experience to
manage your business and bring the product to market profitably.
Money:
If the answers to the Market and Management questions are "Yes," then and
only then should you think about money. Too many people ignore the market and
management issues and focus only on money, but the survival of the business depends
on the market and the management. To overlook those issues will assure business
failure and an inability to secure financing.
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Figure 3-1; The Step by Step Feasibility Process
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C) Business Planning/ Plans
The business details involved in starting and running a business is an area few
entrepreneurs and small businesses understand and is usually the cause of business
failure. After coming up with a food product idea, the next step is to come up with a
business plan. A business plan is a written document that describes your business, the
competition, cash flow, your marketing plan and other components that will justify the
worthiness of your idea or concept.
There are several reasons to write a business plan;
1) To help you think through the venture and ensure that you have considered all your
options and anticipated any potential difficulties. It is hard to plan the details of a
business when all the major elements of the business are running around your head.
2) To convince lenders and potential investors that you are in control of the project and
that their money will be safe with you.
3) To serve as an operating guide as you turn your idea into a viable business.
You may need a business plan to get a startup loan or get potential investors to
buy into your business, but the best reason for developing a business plan is for you to
solidify your whole plan for production, marketing and sales of your product. The vast
majority of startup businesses that fail do not fail due to the product idea or concept
but fail due to the lack of a good, solid business plan. As an entrepreneur, you need to
learn how to manage risk. Life has inherent risks to it as just about everything we do.
Starting a food business is no different. It has certain risks and you as an entrepreneur
are taking a risk. However, you can minimize those risks by thinking, studying,
researching and ultimately writing a business plan. I like to think of it as “prudent risk
taking”. You know the risks involved but you are also aware of the financial and
personal rewards before you ever open the business.
Not everyone enjoys the art of writing but writing a business plan should be
fun and exciting. You are literally building a business in your mind. There is no risk,
no real money spent- it sounds more like a game similar to Monopoly. Have fun with it
like a game remembering there is no real risk until after you have the plan all
developed and you have a good feeling about it. Then you have to decide if you want
to spend your money. Start by downloading a copy of a business plan from the
Arkansas Small Business Development Center or just type the business plan on the
following page in a Microsoft Word document or similar product and start filling in
the information. The main points to initially consider are #5 Description of the
Business, #11 The Market and #12 The Competition. These are the most critical ones
to consider upfront. Use the internet, talk to people in the business, go to libraries and
the Arkansas Small Business Development Center to gather information. Spend
several evening per week studying and gathering information to fill in the details you
gather for your business plan. You can also customize a downloaded copy of a
business plan to fit your needs. Include everything you want to in your plan. You can
never have too much information. Just start writing the plan as to what you know at
that time. Don’t worry about not knowing everything. At this point, you will probably
realize how little you know. I suggest that you buy a laptop computer and a good
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recliner chair and spend many nights per week just dreaming and adding everything
you can to your business plan. The most important thing is to have fun with it.
There are a number of sources from which to obtain detailed business plan
formats;
1) The United States Small Business Administration has a Business Plan form that can
be downloaded from www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html.
2) The Arkansas Small Business Development Center has an excellent booklet entitled
“Start-Up Guide” that has a business plan in it. There is also a business plan outline in
the New Venture Guide. Call 501/324-9043 for a free copy. You can also download a
copy of a business form from; http://www.asbdc.ualr.edu/bizfacts/1004.asp).
Listed below are the elements for a business plan from the Arkansas Small Business
Development Center.
2. Title Page: Repeat the business name, address and phone number, and add the name
and addresses of the principal owners. Also show the dates of issue of the plan and
type "copy number ___" so you can number and control the copies.
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4. Table of Contents: A single page showing major topics and page references.
6. Business Location:
A. What is your business address and why did you choose this location?
B. Will the building be leased or owned?
C. What are the terms and length of the lease contract?
D. What renovations will be needed and at what cost?
E. Describe the neighborhood (e.g., stable, changing, improving, deteriorating).
F. What other kinds of businesses are in the neighborhood?
G. How much can your business expand before you will be forced to move or add on
to the present building?
8. Management:
A. What is your business and management experience?
B. What education have you had, including both formal and informal courses that
contribute to your management abilities?
C. Are you physically suited to the job?
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D. Do you have direct operational and/or management experience in this type of
business?
E. Describe your organizational structure and include a brief description of who does
what. (Include an organizational chart if necessary.)
F. List proposed salaries and wages.
G. What other management resources will be available (accountant, lawyer, SBDC)?
10. Insurance: Describe your potential business risks and tell what insurance coverage
you will purchase to protect yourself.
11. The Market: Generally explain who needs your product or service and how you
plan to reach them.
A. What is the present size and growth potential of the market?
B. What percent of the market will you have now and in the future?
C. Describe age, sex, occupation, lifestyle, income, etc. of your various market
segments.
D. How will you attract and keep your segment of the market?
(product quality, price, public relations, personal selling)
E. What features or services will you offer that will justify your price?
F. How will you handle credit sales? (extend your own credit, accept major credit
cards).
12. Competition: Briefly describe your competition and tell how their operations are
similar and dissimilar to yours. What is your unique selling proposition and how will
you use it to control your market?
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14. Supporting Documents:
A. Personal resumes for all principals.
B. Personal financial statements for al principals.
C. Letters of reference.
D. Letters of intent from prospective suppliers or customers.
E. Copies of all leases, contracts, or agreements, deeds, or other legal documents.
F. Any other information that might help your case or answer potential questions.
Final Comments;
The development and growth of a food company is hard work, but it can be
rewarding in the long run. The business plan is just the beginning of the journey. The
suggested format of a business plan is just a general outline. Your product may not
need all the elements and possibly not the extent suggested but it is the best place to
start. In general, it is suggested that entrepreneurs initially have their food product co-
packed (have a manufacturer make it for you) so you can concentrate on marketing
and sales. This can make the writing of the business plan much easier. I also suggest
that you have a “notes section” or keep a journey of everything you hear people say,
comments from seminars that you attend, ideas that come across your mind when you
are day-dreaming- everything that you can think of.
You will never hit higher than you aim. Look at the business plan as monopoly
and you are playing with play money. Write a book with the end in mind. Dare to
dream big. Talk to lots of people. Work to get it right the first time. Start with an idea
and then add technology.
1. Business Structures;
There are several kinds of business structures. The most common are sole proprietor-
ship, partnership and corporation. The following discussion of the various types of
business structures is presented solely as an overview. Choosing the best form of legal
organization for your business is a highly personal matter which depends on your
situation. No one form of organization is recommended. It is strongly recommended
that you use the following discussion as a means of familiarizing yourself with the
types of business organizations. After becoming familiar with these, discuss the
37
advantages and disadvantages of each form and your specific situation with a qualified
tax accountant and/or your attorney before you make a final decision on the type of
organization best for you.
Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is a business which is owned and operated by one person.
To establish a sole proprietorship, you need only to obtain whatever licenses you need
and begin operations. It is the easiest way to go into business.
Advantages: The advantages of a sole proprietorship are as follows.
a) Little or no government approval is needed. And going into business this way will
not be costly. b) The business can be terminated at any time the sole proprietor
decides, or it will be terminated with his death. You do not have to share any profits
and, likewise, you do not have anyone with whom to share losses. You can quickly
respond to problems since you make all the decisions. You have relative freedom from
government control and special taxes.
Disadvantages: The disadvantages of a sole proprietorship are; a) .In a sole
proprietorship you have unlimited liability. You, as the sole owner, are responsible for
the full amount of business debts. You can lessen the problems of liability, such as
physical loss or personal injury, with proper insurance. The business can be crippled if
you get sick or terminated if you die. You have less access to capital. b) Getting long-
term loans in a sole proprietorship is hard because your collateral is limited. You only
have the viewpoint and experience of one person, which can be very limited. c) There
are no special tax breaks. The financial results of your business are treated as your
personal income or loss for tax purposes. Despite these disadvantages, most businesses
start as a sole proprietorship and evolve into a partnership or corporation to increase
the access to additional capital or for reasons of taxation.
Partnerships
A partnership is an association of two or more persons to carry on as co-owners
of a business for profit. Like a marriage, partnerships are easy to get into and
sometimes hard to get out of. It is a good idea in the beginning to develop a
partnership agreement in writing outlining the responsibilities of the partners.
The two most important types of partnerships are general partnerships and limited
partnerships. General partners may or may not participate in the management of the
business, but they have joint and several liability. This means each partner is liable up
to his/her percentage ownership, but each is also liable for liabilities not satisfied by
the other partners. In a limited partnership, the general partner(s) manage the company
and the limited partners who do not participate in the management and control of the
enterprise have their liability limited to their investment in the business.
Advantages: The advantages of a partnership are as follows. a) The legal formalities
and expenses can be much less than the required in the creation of a corporation. b)
You can obtain more capital and more expertise than in a sole proprietorship just
because there are more people to draw on. c) There is less flexibility in making deci-
sions than in a sole proprietorship if decision making is shared. Taking a partner
should increase your ability to obtain capital.
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Disadvantages: The disadvantages of a partnership are as follows. a) As in a sole
proprietorship, general partners have unlimited liability. You can lessen the problems
of liability, such as physical loss or personal injury, with proper insurance. Elimination
of any partner automatically dissolves the partnership, unless succession is specifically
spelled out in the partnership agreement. If you want to buyout a partner, it may be
difficult unless specifically arranged in the written agreement. b) The acts of one
partner can bind the rest. One partner may agree to buy supplies that are not needed
and not budgeted for, committing the others to the expenditures.
Corporations;
This is by far the most complex of the three business structures. A corporation
is a distinct legal entity, distinct from the individuals who own it. In Arkansas, a
corporation can be one or more people doing business.
A corporation is formed by the authority of a state government. You may want to use
the services of an attorney for assistance in completing and registering forms with the
secretary of state's office (Do not compensate the attorney by allowing him to become
a stock holder). You must have the forms completed when you take them there as they
do not allow the people in the office to provide any assistance.
As a corporation, you are responsible for paying the corporate franchise tax. Even if
you never do business as a corporation, you must file an annual report and pay the
modest franchise tax. There are other requirements of being a corporation, e.g.,
stockholders meetings. If you are becoming a corporation to avoid unlimited liability
and don't meet all the requirements, a case could be made against you that you were
not acting as a corporation and your personal assets could be used to satisfy the debt.
This is known as piercing the veil of the corporation.
It is strongly suggested to incorporate after you are in business making money. To
dissolve a corporation, you pay $50 plus all back franchise taxes.
Advantages: The advantages of a corporation are as follows. a) The stockholders of a
large corporation have limited liability at the fixed amount of their investment.
However, if you are the sole or one of the largest stockholder(s) in your small
corporation, creditors will often make you personally responsible for the debts as well.
b) There is a stability and relative permanence of existence in a corporation. In case of
death of one person, the business will continue. c) The ownership of a corporation is
easily transferable as setup in the charter for the corporation. d) It is easier to secure
additional capital. e) The ability of the corporation to draw on the expertise and skills
of more than one owner is possible.
Disadvantages: The disadvantages of a corporation are as follows. a) The charter and
various laws limit the activities of the corporation. b) Some additional government
regulation and reporting requirements exist. Forming a corporation can be costly.
c) Double taxation - you pay income tax on the corporation's net income and on divi-
dends. To avoid this, forming a subchapter S corporation allows the shareholders to be
taxed as if the corporation was a partnership.
Remember, no one is expected to know everything. It is extremely important for every
business to identify someone in the fields of law, accounting, banking and insurance
and use them when they don't have the knowledge to decide.
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S Corporation and Limited Liability
Two other forms of business organizations are the S Corporation and Limited
Liability Company.
S Corporation
An S Corporation makes a tax election filing with the IRS. The IRS treats the S
Corporation as if it were a partnership or proprietorship for tax purposes, thus allowing
the owner(s) to distribute earnings to themselves and pay taxes on an individual basis.
Advantages: Continuous existence; flow-through taxation; limited liability
Disadvantages: Expensive to organize; limited to one class of stock 35 owners, and no
entity shareholders; has additional legal and tax rules
that must be monitored to maintain the integrity of any possible tax advantages.
2) Record Keeping
There is no particular way to keep books except that personal and business
expenses must be kept separate and receipts must be kept. So why should you keep
records? The first reason is for tax purposes. All expenses incurred in a business are at
least partially tax deductible. Secondly, records make it possible to determine if you
are making a profit. You may think your business is profitable, but that may not be
true. Do you know how much it costs you to make your product? A small business
person should not continue an activity that is not profitable. And finally, you keep
records to be able to obtain bank loans. No one will loan you money without a
complete set of records showing how the business is doing.
The records that are necessary are:
A) Sales and gross receipts (receipts should be given);
B) Purchases (receipts should be obtained); expenses (travel, overhead, etc.).
Most people start a business in hopes of becoming rich. Others have a business in
addition to their primary source of income. Whatever category you are in you should
know how the IRS views the situation. Briefly, you must claim any income you make
in any business on your income tax. For purposes of reporting to IRS, you will need
the following:
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A) The amount of time and effort spent to carry on an activity, particularly if the
activity does not have significant personal or recreational aspects, or if you quit
another job to do this one.
B) Capital invested and expectations that the assets may appreciate in value;
C) Success of the producer in carrying on other similar or dissimilar activities;
D) Financial status of the taxpayer. Lack of other sources of income indicates to the
IRS that the activity is engaged in for profit;
E) Elements of personal pleasure or recreation. The presence of such elements
suggests that the activity is a hobby. Fortunately the courts long ago ruled that a
business activity can be enjoyable.
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will be part of the papers you file with the Secretary of State Office and you will not
have to file them separately.
Patents;
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued
by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent
is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United
States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject
to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the
United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances,
patent term extensions or adjustments may be available.
The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of
the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or
selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United
States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but
the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing
the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid
of the USPTO.
There are three types of patents:
1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and
useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new
and useful improvement thereof;
2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and
ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and
3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually
reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.
To learn more about patents or register for a patent, go to;
http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm.
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UPC Code;
There are a variety of different types of bar codes. However, the U.P.C. symbol
is the most recognized bar code in the United States, since it appears on almost every
retail product. The U.P.C. symbol is the bar code representation of the UCC-12. The
Universal Product Code (UPC) number consists of twelve numeric characters that
uniquely identify a company's individual product. Although, the initial U.P.C. usage
was focused on retail point of sale (POS), many other industries have adopted this
coding structure.
The first six to nine digits of a U.P.C. is referred to as the “Company Prefix”,
and they are assigned by a non-profit organization (GS1 US formerly the Uniform
Code Council). This number uniquely identifies a company and always remains
constant on all of a company's products. The next set of digits is called the “product
numbers”, and these numbers uniquely identify individual items. Unlike the UCC
Company Prefix, product numbers are arbitrarily assigned by each company. The
twelfth character in a U.P.C. is the “check digit”. This number is derived from a
formula based upon the previous eleven numbers. The GS1 US is the only
organization which could assign Company Prefixes. See the figure below for the
assignment codes. To apply for a UPC or bar code, go to; www.gs1-us.info.
A UPC is not a state or federal requirement but most retail stores require them.
Self-Employment Tax
If you are self-employed, you must pay self-employment taxes when filing
your income tax form. Use schedule SE. Theses self-employment taxes pay for social
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security and medicare benefits. Self-employed people do not pay unemployment taxes
nor can they collect unemployment.
State Withholding
After receiving your federal TIN, you must register with the state for state
withholding taxes. The state withholding requirements are similar to federal
requirements. Request the state employers guide for information and forms. Contact
the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Revenue Division, Seventh
and Wolfe, P. O. Box 3861, Little Rock, AR 72203; 501-682-7290, for the state taxes.
Privilege License
You obtain this license from the city where you do business. If your business is
located outside a city, you may not need one. If you need one, you can obtain it from
the city clerk's office. In Little Rock you pick it up at the zoning commission and take
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it to the city clerk’s office. The fees vary depending on the type of business. In Little
Rock it could be $100 - $200 for a small business with no inventory. It is renewable
every year and takes about 45 minutes.
Zoning
If you are operating in any area not zoned for business, you will need to check
with the zoning commission in your town. The zoning commission will tell you if your
location is in compliance. Often, it is neighbors rather than a government official who
report zoning violations. Zoning requirements vary among cities. For example, in the
city of Little Rock you must strictly adhere to the following conditions: Only 49%, or
a maximum of 500 square feet, of the principle residential structure can be used for the
office operations of your business. This will include telephone and bookkeeping
service.
No outside storage of equipment or materials is allowed except material or
equipment kept on a truck. Only one service vehicle no larger than 3/4 ton can be
parked, stored or maintained at a private residence. There can be no use of any
accessory structure on residential property for storage or for conducting business. No
present or future employees are permitted to report to this location for job assignment.
No additional building or remodeling is allowed on this property to accommodate this
business. Since the Arkansas Department of Health prohibits commercial food
preparation from the family kitchen, these regulations essentially mean that foods for
sale cannot be prepared in a residential area. You might also need to find out about
sign ordinances while you are at the zoning commission. Some ordinances are strict
about where and how far from the business signs can be placed.
4) Other Concerns
1) Getting your business into the yellow page ads may be all the advertising you need.
Be aware of the dates when they are due. To be in the yellow pages, you have to have
a business phone which costs more than a phone in your private residence.
2) Decide if you want your mail delivered to your physical address (not a good idea for
a home-based business) or a post office box.
3) Be sure to sign up for a garbage service as residential service will not cover a
business. Be sure it is included in your budget.
4) Be sure you have the space and help to off-load deliveries.
5) Be sure you have a source of supplies. If you need help finding them, check the
Small Business Sourcebook or the Thomas Register.
6) Be sure to remember to budget for utility deposits. They may be as high as $1,000.
7) Do not sign your lease until you have the money to start your business. Paying for
an unused building is unwise.
8) Set up a separate bank account for your business. No one should pay bills for the
business out of their personal account. Having a separate account assists in your record
keeping and documentation of tax deductible items.
9) Be sure you have the proper insurance to cover your needs, especially if you are
using a business structure of a sole proprietor or partner. Some types of insurance you
45
might need are property / casualty; general liability; product liability; workers'
compensation; and business interruption. .
10) Insure that you can accept credit cards. Your business could be crippled without
the ability to accept them. To obtain the necessary account, check with your local bank
for a merchant's number.
11) However big a business you plan to start, you will be more successful if you obtain
the support of your family. Set up a work schedule and follow it.
12) Plan your equipment needs. You might start with used, functional equipment and
add more equipment as your business grows.
13) Keep contacts alive and well with colleagues. Join a service club. It is good for
business to have a network of people you can call for help.
Introduction;
To many people, “marketing” means either selling or advertising of your
business. Jay Levinson in his book “Guerilla Marketing” defines marketing as
“everything you do to promote your business from the moment you think of the idea
until the customers buy and begin to do so on a regular basis”.
There are basically two theories on what the goal of business is;
1) The goal of business is profit and profit means the firm survives and has a chance
to grow.
2) The goal of business is to get and keep a customer. Profit is implied because if you
don’t make a profit, you will not be around to keep or service your customer. You
choose which goal you want to accept. The bottom line is that a profit must be made.
You may be asking yourself, “What is the difference between selling and
marketing?” Selling asks the question “How do I get the customer to buy my
product?” Marketing takes a broader view and asks “What does the customer want to
buy?” The business owner needs to attract new audiences, study the competition and
develop his or her product or service so that it appeals to a highly discriminating or
targeted audience.
One should view marketing as a process. The successful marketing process
includes;
1) Determining what the customer needs and wants.
2) Developing a product or service to meet those needs or wants.
3) Understanding the competition and what they offer.
4) Linking with the customer as a source for fulfilling his or her needs and wants.
5) Doing all of this at a price that provides a profit so that the business can continue to
grow.
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2) Developing a Product or Service to Meet those Needs or Wants. Upon
understanding what benefits are wanted, the owner develops a product or service, the
features of which provide the customer with the requested benefits. Marketing is
selling these benefits rather than the features. A feature is any prominent or distinctive
aspect, quality or characteristic. A benefit is what that feature gives the customer. An
example would be a reclosable package. The feature is reclosable: The benefit to the
customer is that it can be reclosed and stored for later use.
3) Understanding the Competition and What They Offer; Customers face a large
marketplace. A successful business owner is able to define a target market and
distinguish his or her business from the competition. Walk down an aisle in any food
store, look at all the different brands of a particular type of product and see how each
brand tries to provide benefits to the customer.
4) Linking the Customer as a Source for Fulfilling His or Her Needs and Wants; The
successful business owner must let the customer know he or she is in business. The
owner must also tell the customer how they can meet their needs, a function known as
advertising. Types of advertising include radio, TV, newspaper and magazines, flyers,
billboards, web-advertising, etc. The business owner must figure out the most cost
effective way of getting to the target audience.
5) Doing All of this at a Price that Provides a Profit so the Business can Continue;
This implies a price of products or services that allows both the customer and the
owner to feel good about the transaction. The business owner must make a profit so
that he or she can stay in business to continue providing that product or service.
Marketing Activities
There are basically four major categories of marketing activities known as the 4 P’s:
1)Positioning
2)Production
3)Pricing
4)Promotion.
2) Production; Successful marketing achieves business growth. The owner must have
anticipated and planned for this growth in the production process. The inability to fill
orders can quickly strangle a firm’s growth and even cause the firm to go out of
business.
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3) Pricing; Pricing is a key factor to business success. Pricing can be done as a “wild
guess”, based on what the competition charges or as a cost-buildup process. I strongly
prefer the cost buildup model whereby you list all your costs (raw materials,
processing costs, packaging, promotion, salaries, distribution, etc.) and then add a
profit margin. Look at what the competition charges as compared to your cost. How
can you do it cheaper or better than the competition? Are people willing to pay that
price for your product or service? How about running promotions on your product or
services so people will try it - buy one, get one free, coupons with a certain amount
off?. Most new entrepreneurs tend to under-price their products and services.
4) Promotion; This addresses the question “How will people know about my product
or service?” Promotions include paid advertising such as radio, TV, newspaper, etc,
and unpaid publicity such as press releases, etc. Promotions may also include trade
shows, mailings, internet, in-store demos, etc. Promotional efforts must occur in the
media that your perspective customers use. Successful promotional efforts focus on the
benefits of your product or service. Benefits can be convenience (precooked,
reclosable packaging, etc), fun, good health, etc. Customers do not buy a product or
service for its features. They buy it for what it can do for them. Learn to romanticize
your product. Watch TV ads– wearing certain brands of trousers make you more
appealing to the opposite sex. Laugh? It works. Watch some TV ads- what is the
message they are sending? Understand the importance of brand loyalty to customer
and that we live in a brand-conscious society . Develop sales literature- price list,
catalog sheet, product information sheet, point of purchase brochure etc to entice
customers to stop, look at your product and hopefully purchase it. The ultimate goal is
to get customers to repeat purchase your product even if it isn’t “on-sale”.
Company Image;
Although not traditionally thought of as marketing, I am a believer in how
customers perceive your company’s image. If your company conducts business in a
sloppy manner, customers will pick up on this. Even if you conduct your business in a
professional manner, you still need to promote your company by donating to
organizations such as the United Way, the Salvation Army and other charitable
organizations. This communicates that you have a community-mindedness philosophy.
Go through your organization and see that things are done as you think your customers
would identify with. Are your letters and correspondence done professionally? Are
your telephones answered professionally? Are your salespersons ethical? Is your
receptionist cheerful, optimistic, properly attired? What about your business facility-
people like to work with professional organizations and your office and facilities tell
them about your professionalism. Business owners must remain aware of the
customer’s perception of the business and move quickly to correct any negative
images. Do you contribute to the community or show proper concern for the
environment? Do the people within your organization project the image of the
company in a favorable way? What about service after the sale? Effective marketing
must continue with the product or service after the final sale. This support includes
service, assistance, warranties, returns and refunds. Advertising is expensive. It gets
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the customer to try your product or service. It is a good start but remember, the goal is
to have customer’s repeat business. Over time, you will notice that 80% of your sales
will come from just 20% of your total customers.
MARKET RESEARCH
Before one starts a business and even periodically while in business, one should
conduct market research. Market research is an organized process to gather, analyze,
interpret and utilize relevant information about the business environment for the
purposes of making accurate business decisions. Market research focuses on potential
customers, existing customers, the competition and the business environment. The
ultimate goal of market research is business success. The objectives of market research
are;
1) Identify potential target markets.
2) Identify customer needs and wants.
3) Determine if the product or service meets customer needs.
4) Determine the best promotion technique for each market.
5) Examine the competition.
The purpose of market research data is to help the business owner make better
decisions. Using market research, the business owner can develop an accurate
understanding of the potential customer. The goal of market research is to reveal
unfilled needs in the form of a market niche, customer’s needs, a competitor’s
weakness or an unused marketing strategy. The ultimate goal is to increase the
business’ sales and profits. Any one can do market research to some extent. Basically,
you want to gather information about;
1) Your customers or potential customers
2) Your competition
3) General market information
Let’s go through each in greater detail.
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About the Competition
You want to gather information about your competition. Who are they? What
products and/or services do they offer? What is the price range of products and
services? What are their policies on returns, credit, warranties, etc.? Are there any
special services? If they are a store-type business, what is their staff like (experience,
customer respect, customer focus)? What kinds of promotions/ advertising do they do?
What is their company image like to the average customer?
Once you have collected as much data as you reasonably can, you need to organize it
by the something called the SWOT grid as shown in the Table 3-1.
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TABLE 3-1; SWOT GRID
W= Weaknesses
O= Opportunities
T= Threats
In the grid, you evaluate your business or business potentials on its strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and possible threats. When you evaluate the environment,
where do you see chances for growth and what might slow your business. Once this
grid is filled out, you will be able to see where your business is headed and what you
can do to improve your situation.
6. GUERRILLA MARKETING
We have previously discussed marketing in broad, general terms. For the small
business owner or entrepreneur, marketing is something to think about but often
question how they can compete with the larger, more established food processing
companies. Guerilla marketing takes its name from guerilla warfare meaning “no
rules”. In the words of the Father of Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson, in
describing guerrilla marketing: "I'm referring to the soul and essence of guerrilla
marketing which remain as always -- achieving conventional goals, such as profits and
joy, with unconventional methods, such as investing energy instead of money”.
Guerilla marketing is specifically for the small business that allows them an unfair
advantage over the established big companies. Guerrilla marketing involves the use of
unconventional and unorthodox marketing methods that allow small businesses to
compete with minimal financial investment. It involves recognizing and exploiting all
marketing opportunities.
Jay Conrad Levinson in his book entitled “Guerrilla Marketing” lists the following as
to what guerrilla marketing is and is not;
1) Guerrilla marketing invests time, energy and imagination into marketing rather than
money. Guerrilla marketing does not cost a lot of money. Spend about 50% of your
marketing budget on people who already do business with you and the other 50% on
prospective clients.
2) Guerrilla marketing uses psychology and the laws of human being in their
marketing. Guerrilla marketing is committed to knowing the customers. Guerrilla
marketing is obsessed with benefits of the product, not the features.
3) Guerrilla marketing uses profits as the yardstick by which they measure the
effectiveness of their marketing programs.
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4) Guerrilla marketing focuses on the devotion to the customer follow-up rather than
ending the deal with the sale.
5) Guerrilla marketing is dedicated to making relationships rather than sales, for long
term relationships are paramount.
6) Guerrilla marketing uses marketing combinations rather than single marketing tools
like advertising. Guerrilla marketing focuses on impact of the message rather than the
volume.
7) Guerrilla marketing suggests that you be sure to maintain your focus.
8) Guerrilla marketing strives to aim marketing messages to individuals, not to groups.
Guerrilla marketing understands positioning and niche markets.
9) Instead of thinking about what you can take from a customer, guerrilla marketing
suggests that you think of what you can give.
10) Guerrilla marketing suggests you embrace technology. Become a “technophile”.
11) All guerrilla marketing is intentional from how the phone is answered to the attire
your employees wear.
12) Instead of talking about yourself and being “me” marketing, guerrilla marketing
talks about the customer and “you” marketing. Guerrilla marketing is committed to
knowing the customers.
13) Instead of going for the sale with marketing, guerrilla marketing goes for consent
to receive marketing materials. Then only markets to those who have given their
consent.
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Guerrilla advertising is more focused, more personal and in the long run more
effective than traditional advertising. Traditional advertising uses newspapers,
magazines, television and radio all of which can be very expensive. The most
important aspect of this advertising is repetition. It will take at least 27 times for your
ad to be noticed by a consumer. Guerrilla advertising uses mini-media such as business
cards, brochures, banners, newsletters, circulars, door hangers, gift certificates, etc.
You can be creative in this approach. Guerrilla advertising receives a higher rate of
response to their targeted media and builds a loyal following. Media quality becomes
more important than quantity.
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Pricing is vital to the success of any business. The best way to look at pricing is
charging the “right price” maximizes long term profits. This means that you might not
make any profits the first few years of opening a business. Most business owners set
prices that maximize sales but not profits. At times they set prices that guarantee sales
but these prices do not even cover costs. This will only guarantee business failure in
the long run.
Product Distribution;
Before you get into calculating your food manufacturing costs, you must
determine which system of distribution is best suited to you and your products. This
has to do with the type of sales outlets that you will work in. Options include retail
food stores, specialty shops, food service or convenience stores. This decision will
effect the pack size, cost of sales personnel, distribution, sales promotion and
advertising and so many other components..
Pricing;
There are three methods of pricing products;
1) The costing method uses actual information and determines the actual cost to
manufacture, distribute and sell your product. Because this method requires detailed
information, it is the most difficult to do. We will go through this method later in this
chapter.
2) The competitive pricing scheme is where the owner establishes his/her selling
price higher or lower than the competition. The advantage to competitive pricing is the
control of a major factor on obtaining and retaining customers. The disadvantages are
knowing who the competition is and the fact that the competitions price may be
constantly moving. Another disadvantage to competitive pricing is that it does not
guarantee that you are covering all the costs incurred
3) Value pricing represents a pricing strategy that typically occurs within small niche
markets such as farmer markets. In this strategy, the uniqueness of the product allows
the owner to charge extra. It implies that the customer is able and willing to pay for a
customized product or personalized service.
Cost Buildup;
We will now go through the cost buildup of a food product for use in the
costing method. The major cost items can be categorized as either direct costs or
indirect costs. Direct costs as the name implies, are the costs directly associated with
the manufacture of the product. These include materials and supplies, salaries, wages
and benefits paid to produce the product and waste generated during the process that
does not meet acceptable standards or is lost in the manufacturing process. Indirect
costs, often referred to as overhead, are the costs associated with running the business
and can be categorized as either fixed expenses or variable expenses. Fixed expenses
include such items as rent, utilities, labor costs for office employees, property
insurance, taxes, licenses, dues and subscriptions. Variable expenses include such
items as office supplies, business travel, advertising, sales commissions and marketing
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Determining your Costs;
We will now go through the steps in determining your costs of producing your
product. The figures used are fictitious so do not use them but come up with your own.
The first step is to determine your direct costs which are costs incurred directly from
the manufacture of the product. Let’s assume the product is 1 lb jars of salsa packed 25
jars per case. These are shown in Table 3-2
Cost Component
1. Ingredients Price/ lb Amount /100 lbs Total cost
Tomato Sauce $ 0.40 90 $36.00
Sugar $ 0.48 8 $ 3.84
Salt $ 0.32 2 $ 0.64
Total 100 lbs $ 40.48
Comment; Rarely do you get a 100% yield. We are always going to have some raw
product spoilage or cooking loss. Let’s say in this example, we only got a 92% yield.
So, $40.48 divided by 92 lbs + $0.44 /lb or $44.00 per 100 lbs of ingredients.
Total Cost of ingredients $44.00
If we package it in 25 lbs cartons, the ingredient cost per case = $11.00
2. Packaging Cost per unit Cost per case (25
jars per case)
Jars (16 oz) $0.16 $4.00
Lids $0.08 $2.00
Labels $0.10 $2.50
Master Box $2.25
Comment; You must include all packaging supplies. We have calculated it on a per
case basis.
Total Packaging cost per case $10.75
3. Labor
3 people X 15 minutes (or .25 hrs) x $11.20 per hour $8.40
Comment; In this example, we figured 3 people could manufacture and package 1 case
containing 25 lbs of finished product in 15 minutes. You then need to come up with a
full salary figure. This figure needs to include total salary including tax withholding
and social security, workman’s comp insurance, benefits such as medical and dental,
etc. You also have to remember that even though people are on the assembly line or at
work, they are not always in producing. You need to account for breaks, vacation,
setup time, product change-overs and other times that people are at work but are not
actively producing. Most companies figure workers work about 70-80% of the time. If
you are estimating labor, it is best to figure total hourly salary ($8.00/hr) and multiple
by 1.4.
$8.00/ hr X 1.4 = $11.20 per hour.
Total cost per case = $30.15
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Some people add in freight to above table.
So we finally come up with a direct cost per case of 30.15 or $1.06 per 1 lb jar of
salsa.
Indirect costs
Now we need to add our indirect costs. You start by figuring out the cost of your
building and equipment depreciated out over time as shown in Table 3-3.
After we have determined our cost for the facility and equipment, we can figure these
numbers into our total indirect costs as shown in Table 3-4. Indirect costs should be
figured on 52 weeks per year x 5 days per week or 260 working days per year.
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So, up to now we have;
1) Direct cost of $30.15/case or $1.06/ 1 lb jar
2) Indirect cost; We figured our indirect costs at $406.13/ day. We then calculated
based on an 8 hour day, our per hour indirect cost to be $50.77/ hour or $12.68 / 15
minute time of manufacture.
3) Profit at 10% ($30.15 + 12.69) x .10 = Wholesale price or cost to sales.
42.84 4.28 = $47.12 per case or $1.88 / 1 lb jar.
The above determination of your cost works well for large and medium-sized
companies but will probably not work well for the entrepreneur or small business. As a
small business begins, many for the indirect costs are not applicable to the small
business owner such as manager’s salary, office labor and other things. The small
business owner does these things himself/herself. But it is important to go through this
to start to get some handle of your true costs. Most entrepreneurs under-price their
products because they are not aware of all these indirect costs. I strongly suggest that
you go through this exercise and start gathering the information so you don’t
underestimate your costs.
As your business grows, you must find ways to manufacture and deliver your
products more efficiently and become more profitable. There are two things you can
do to become more profitable. First, you can increase your prices. Second, you can
decrease your costs to produce the goods. An increase in prices can cause sales to
drop. If product sales drop too far, you may not generate enough money to cover your
fixed expenses. Price increases require a careful reading of inflation rates, competitive
factors and basic supply and demand for the product you are producing. The other way
of increasing your profit is to lower your production costs. This can be accomplished
by decreasing material costs or making the product more efficiently. Volume discounts
are a good way to reduce material costs. The more material you by from a supplier, the
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more likely they are to offer you discounts. You can also reduce your labor costs by
using automation.
If we use margins, our cost to sales of salsa and used a 25% margin, our cost would be
computed as follows;
The different selling prices of $2.35 and $2.50 occur when you use a markup
versus a margin. The markup is cost plus profit; whereas the margin is calculated on
selling price less profit.
For the entrepreneur, it is best to use the margins method and start with the
competitor’s price as a reference. Then deduct the retailers and distributors margins
and this will tell you where you need to be relative to your cost to sales.
To determine your final cost to the consumer, determine the distributors and
retailers margin or markups. Most distributors use about a 25% margin whereas
retailers typically use a 50% markup. To some people, 25% margins and 50% markups
seem fairly high but one must understand what they do and their costs. Distributor
margins are used to pay for storage of products at warehouses and make deliveries to
restaurants or retail stores. The cost of trucks, drivers and fuel are all part of their
costs. Retail stores also have costs such as the cost of the store itself, air conditioning/
heating, stocking shelves, polishing floors, salaries for clerks etc. Restaurants margins
include costs of the building, cooking equipment, cooks, cleaning etc.
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Table 3-6; Cost Buildup including Margins and Markup
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This list at first may seem a bit overwhelming. Closer inspection finds that most
questions can be answered easily. Major factors that should be carefully scrutinized
relate to introductory and/or promotional allowance, advertising allowance, slotting
allowance and product liability.
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4. Principles of Food Preservation and Processing/
Food Microbiology and Safety
A) Introduction;
B)) Principles of Food Preservation and Processing;
C) Microbiology
D) Food Preservation
E) Pathogens;
F) Shelf Life and Stability;
G) Code Dating;
H) Recalls;
I) HACCP;
J) Bioterrorism;
A) Introduction;
This chapter deals with how foods are preserved, processed and about
microbiology and other aspects of food safety and control. It is brief when one
considers the amount of information available. It is important that developers of new
food products understand the principles discussed in this chapter.
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Human beings consume a wide variety of foods with a range of chemical
compositions, and many different flavors, colors, textures, and levels of nutrients. The
main food types may be classified as follows:
The importance of quality can never be underestimated. People will not eat
food unless it provides the pleasurable experiences that they expect from it. Another
important factor in food selection is the assumption that the food is safe, that is, it is
free from harmful ingredients, spoilage microorganisms of public health significance
and will cause no damage to the consumer's health. The safety aspect of food is an
important criterion that must always be addressed. Food also must be affordable. The
selling price must be in a range that people can afford and are willing to pay. Finally
food is chosen because it is nutritious. For the majority of people, nutrition comes last.
Few people will eat food because it is good for them if it does not have the appearance,
flavor and texture that they expect. Nutrition is, of course, essential. However, before
food can be called nutritious it must be acceptable since the nutritional value is zero if
people refuse to eat the food. No one class of food can supply all of the essential
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nutrients; a diet consisting of a wide range of foods is needed to assure adequate
nutrition.
It is well known that some foods keep longer than others. We refer to this by
saying foods have varying levels of perishability. On this basis, foods can be classified
into three groups depending on how long they keep without any treatment.
1. Highly perishable foods will keep for only hours or days before spoiling.
Examples are milk, meat, fish, and some fruits and vegetables. In general, the most
perishable foods are those that contain a high level of protein or have moisture
carbohydrates in them.
2. Perishable foods will keep for several weeks or months without spoiling.
Examples are most fruits and vegetables, fats and oils.
3. Staple foods will keep for months or years without spoiling. Examples are whole
cereal grains, oil seeds, nuts and honey.
Food preservation increases the stability of the food so that it can be stored for a
longer time before spoiling. Foods are preserved by any of the following methods:
Food Processing converts edible food into another form with a higher degree of
acceptability. For example, from the nutritional standpoint, there is no reason why
wheat should not be consumed directly as a food; however, its texture is much too hard
for most people to chew. Consequently, wheat is processed into other forms with
higher acceptability such as bread, pasta, cakes and cookies. Some food processing
techniques decrease the stability of the food. For example, barley grains will keep for
years in good condition but beer is a highly perishable product. Dry pasta and dry
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beans will keep for many months in good condition but after being cooked, they
become moist and will spoil within a few hours unless refrigerated.
One overriding concern that must be kept in mind in all food preservation and food
processing operations is the concept of health and safety. Various government
agencies are empowered to see that food manufacturing establishments, food retailers
and food service establishments serve only food that will not be dangerous for human
consumption. The major cause for concern by health authorities is the growth of
harmful bacteria on moist foods. Bacteria are always present in the environment and
can multiply quickly in moist foods. Food production facilities must be constantly
vigilant in terms of maintaining conditions where bacteria cannot grow or if they grow,
can only grow very slowly.
Food Preservation;
Food technologists recognize that all foods deteriorate in storage. Generally,
foods have their best quality at the time of harvest or processing and the quality
deteriorates steadily during storage. Poor quality raw materials will never produce a
good quality preserved product. High quality raw materials can produce a good quality
preserved product or a low quality preserved product depending on how well the
processing is conducted.
All food is biodegradable. This means the food breaks down and is returned to
the earth in a form that can be reused for growth. This is Mother Nature’s way of
recycling. There are basically three ways in which foods are decomposed. First is that
of small living organisms called microbes. These can be classified as bacteria, yeast
and molds. They break the food down to smaller particles. For example, bacteria can
breakdown large protein molecules into smaller particles some of which contain sulfur
containing amino acids. This is what gives rotten food its characteristic odor. The
second mechanism is that of enzymes. All forms of living matter from meat to plant
tissues contain enzymes that cause food to breakdown into smaller particles. The best
example is that of vegetables. Vegetables must be blanched (heat treated) before going
into a freezer. Even through the freezer temperatures slow down the rate of enzymatic
activity, it does not stop it. Failure to blanch vegetables before freezing will result in
an extremely soft, mushy texture. This is due to the enzymes in the raw foods products
breaking down the internal structure of the food while in the freezer. The third method
of degradation is that of oxidation. Oxidation is not so much about structural damage
but has to do with fat becoming rancid by what is known as the free radical.
All food preservation techniques are based on one of four major categories as
listed in Table 4-1.
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Table 4-1; Major Categories of Food Preservation
Temperature Controlled;
Temperature can be used quite effectively to preserve food and is used
frequently. Temperature treatments for preservation can be divided into the use of cold
temperatures such as refrigeration and freezing. Heat treatments can be divided into
pasteurization and sterilization techniques. The idea behind using temperature as a
preservation technique mainly lies in the control of bacteria and to some extent
enzymes. Bacteria grow well at temperatures above 40F. Bacteria grow at
temperatures below 40F but at a much slower rate. Some believe that bacteria and
enzymatic activity are stopped at freezer temperatures. This is not exactly true.
Bacteria live through frozen temperatures but are dormant or grow very slowly.
Refrigeration is the easiest and most convenient method of extending the shelf
life of foods. It is also known as the" gentlest" method of preservation because it
causes the least change in the original quality of the food. Refrigeration greatly slows
the rate of growth of microorganisms that spoil the food. These include bacteria, mold
and yeast. It does not prevent their growth, it only slows it. Table 4-2 shows the
growth of bacteria held at various temperatures and over a period of time. Notice that
the time required to reach a million plus bacteria is shorter as the temperature is
increased.
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Table 4-2. Growth of Bacteria in Unpasteurized Milk (Number of Organisms per
Milliliter).
Temperature F 24 Hours 48 Hours 96 Hours 168 Hours
32 2,400 2,100 7,850 1,400
39 2,500 3,600 218,000 4,200,000
46 3,100 12,000 1,480,000
50 11,600 540,000
60 180,000 28,000,000
86 1,400,000,000
Most food poisoning organisms grow slowly between 40-50°F and grow
extremely slow at temperatures below 40°F. For this reason, it is desirable to maintain
the temperature inside refrigerators below 40°F.
The rate of growth of microorganisms on refrigerated food depends upon the
temperature of the food, not on the temperature in the refrigerator. When warm food is
placed in a refrigerator, a period of time is required to cool the food down to
refrigerator temperature. During this time, microorganisms may be growing even
though the food is in a cold refrigerator. Food in large containers takes longer to cool
to refrigerator temperature than food in small containers. Therefore, it is unwise to
place large containers filled with warm food in a refrigerator. Since rapid cooling is
desired, it is advisable to pack food in containers no deeper than four inches. Once the
food comes to refrigerator temperature, it may then be transferred into larger
containers for continued storage in the refrigerator. In some cases it is possible to
precool warm food by placing the container under cold running water for a period of
time before it is placed in the refrigerator.
66
there name implies, they endure or tolerate cold temperatures. Psychrotropic pathogens
include Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, nonproteolytic strains of C.
botulinum, some strains of enterotoxigenic E. coli and Aeromonas hydrophilia.
Several other foodborne disease organisms are capable of growth at slightly above
41°F and may be present in refrigerated foods. These include: Vibrio parahemolyticus;
Bacillus cereus; Staphylococcus aureus and certain strains of Salmonella.
A third consideration when working with refrigerated foods is that a manufacturer
should expect some temperature abuse of the foods during storage and distribution.
This abuse often occurs during handling at the consumer level.
The last two points for consideration deal with labeling. A "Keep Under
Refrigeration" statement must be prominent on the product label and outside carton. In
addition, a "Sell By" or "Use By" date needs to be used on these products. This will
help processors control their product, but it is not a guarantee against problems. If the
stock is not rotated properly, the out of date product may still get to the consumer.
A processor of refrigerated foods needs to incorporate into product preparation as
many treatments or barriers as possible to help reduce the microbial population and
minimize their reproduction. Some of these treatments include: heat, acidification,
preservatives, reduced water activity and modified atmosphere packaging. Even
though modified atmosphere is included as a potential barrier to microbial growth, it
must be noted that reduced oxygen atmospheres may actually favor anaerobic bacterial
growth, some of which are pathogenic. For many products, modified atmosphere
packaging is really an aid to enhance product quality or appearance rather than safety.
One example of a product which successfully employs the multiple barrier
principle is pasteurized cheese spread. The product uses a combination of reduced
water activity (added salt and phosphates) and mild heat treatment to eliminate non-
spore forming pathogens and inhibit growth of spore forming pathogenic
microorganisms.
Any manufacturer who considers marketing a refrigerated food should have
extensive shelflife studies conducted by persons knowledgeable in the area of food
microbiology.
2. Freezing
Freezing is one of the safest and most popular food preservation techniques. It is
used for almost all foods including prepared products. The advantages of freezing
foods are that it is easy to do, there is usually excellent retention of quality in terms of
flavor, color and nutritive value and it is safe. No pathogenic or toxic organisms can
grow under frozen conditions. The disadvantages of frozen foods are the energy costs
for freezing the food and holding it frozen and the food usually has to be thawed
before it is ready for eating.
For many foods such as milk, meat and fish the rate of freezing has little effect on
quality. But for other foods such as ice cream, vegetables and fruits, slow freezing
gives a poor texture; for these products it is necessary to freeze quickly in order to get
a satisfactory texture in the product. Since water expands when it changes to ice, foods
expand about 10% in volume when they are frozen. Therefore, in packaging frozen
foods it is necessary to provide space for the expansion of the food as it goes through
the freezing process. The slow freezing of foods causes some textural problems in that
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when food is slowly frozen, ice crystals grow in size and rupture the structural tissues
responsible for good texture. The result of slow freezing is a mushy texture.
The recommended temperature for storage of frozen products is usually O°F. At
this temperature, most foods can be stored for six months or longer. At l0oF, the
storage life of frozen foods generally drops to about half. The normal storage life of
some frozen foods is given in Table 4-3..
There is a tendency for water in frozen foods to evaporate from the surface of the
food and condense on the colder surface of the cooling coils. This drying out leaves a
tough, hard, low moisture, discolored portion which is called "freezer burn." Freezer
burn can be prevented by:
a) Using packaging materials that are moisture vapor proof.
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b) Avoiding puncturing packages because freezer burn will occur at the point of
puncture.
c) Prechilling just to the freezing point in high humidity air to minimize the loss of
water vapor during freezing.
d) Dipping the unpackaged food pieces in water which forms a glaze of ice over the
surface. The ice will evaporate before moisture is removed from the food.
Vegetables contain enzymes that will develop unpleasant flavors and soft textures
during frozen storage. For this reason, vegetables are blanched to inactivate these
enzymes and prevent the formation of these off-flavors and off-textures. Blanching
usually consists of immersing pieces of prepared vegetables in water at 190-210°F for
2-5 minutes and then chilling in cold water before putting them in the freezer.
Most starch pastes cannot withstand freezing and thawing. They break down
giving a poor appearance and poor texture. For this reason, starch thickened sauces and
gravies that are intended for freezing need to be prepared from special grades of starch
that withstand the freezing and thawing process without breakdown. Companies that
supply food grade starches can provide information on the kind of starch needed for
specific applications.
Thawing occurs at about one-half the rate of freezing under equivalent conditions.
This means time for thawing can be an important consideration when working with
frozen foods. Small items can be thawed in air. Large items should be thawed at a low
temperature because the outside surfaces of the food may have considerable bacterial
growth and possibly spoil before the center is thawed. Table 4-4 shows the change in
microbial counts during thawing of a 30 lb. can of frozen whole eggs. The data clearly
demonstrate that thawing conditions affect the rate of build up of microbes in the egg
product.
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temperature for longer than a day or two. Foods warmed to temperatures greater than
400F are generally not appropriate for refreezing. Table 4-5 provides a guide for
determining when foods may be refrozen.
3. Heat Preservation
There are two methods of heat preservation of foods. They include pasteurization and
heat sterilization.
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because of the possibility of growth of the non-pathogenic organisms that survive. For
this reason, pasteurization is usually combined with refrigeration. The combination of
pasteurization followed by refrigerated storage extends the shelf life of products
considerably. For example, pasteurized milk stored at 35°F can keep for two weeks or
longer.
Pasteurization is used for liquids such as milk, beer and juices, and many types of
high acid sauces and condiments. An example of the time and temperature required for
pasteurization can be found with raw milk. In batch pasteurization, milk is heated to
145°F and held at this temperature for 30 minutes then rapidly cooled. In high
temperature-short time pasteurization (HTST) milk is heated to a temperature of at
least 161°F and held for 15 seconds. In the ultra high temperature pasteurization
(UHT) milk is heated to a temperature of 280°F for 2 seconds.
Moisture Controlled;
All foods contain water (moisture). Most foods contain considerable water
when prepared and ready for eating. Fresh fruits and vegetables usually contain 85% to
95% water. Lean meat is about 55% to 70% water. Dry spaghetti contains about 10%
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water, but after cooking it is 60% to 70% water. Most microorganisms require some
available moisture to live and proliferate. There are two basic ways of controlling
moisture to extend shelflife. They include drying and control of water activity (Aw).
Dehydration;
Dehydration is the oldest technology for preservation of foods. It has been used for
thousands of years. Dehydration involves reducing the water content of the food to a
level where it will not support the growth of spoilage organisms. Drying, the actual
removal of water, is the most common form of dehydration. It is also the most widely
used method of food preservation in terms of tonnage preserved. The most common
dried foods are cereals and cereal products such as pasta and cookies, fruit, milk, fish,
vegetables, instant coffee, coconut and eggs, in descending order of quantity.
The drying process consists of applying energy in the form of heat. This heat is
absorbed by the food causing water vapor to leave the food. Because enzymes
naturally present in vegetables may cause the development of unpleasant flavors and
colors during storage, most vegetables need to be blanched (heated to about 200°F for
about three minutes) before drying to destroy the enzymes. One exception is onions
which are not blanched before drying because they would lose their flavor. Fruits are
not usually blanched before drying.
Water Activity
Aw is a term used to describe the available moisture in a food product. Foods
such as honey may contain an appreciable amount of moisture but if all the available
moisture is bound by sugar, it is unavailable to microorganisms to grow. Table 4-5
shows the Aw range for various foods.
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Table 4-5; Water Activity Values for Various Foods.
Honey 0.75
Jams 0.80-0.91
Although the water activity increases as the water content increases, the
relationship between Aw and percent water is complex. For example, raisins at 23%
moisture, uncooked rice at 12% moisture and tea leaves at 4% moisture all have the
same water activity of about 0.70.
Water activity is a more effective measurement than percent water in determining
whether or not microorganisms can grow in a food. The minimum water activity for
the growth of microorganisms is shown in Table 4-7.
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Adding sugar or salt, as in sweet spreads, candied fruits, salted fish or salted
vegetables are means of reducing the water activity and preserving food. In meat, salt
is usually supplemented with ingredients such as nitrites, which aid in spoilage
prevention. In fish, various levels of salt may be combined with different storage
temperatures to provide preservation.
In all of the above cases, salt is used to inhibit the growth of spore-forming
bacteria such as C. botulinum and only enough heat is applied to kill the non-heat
resistant types. Strains of C. botulinum are known to grow in a suitable food
containing 7 % salt, but their growth is inhibited at a concentration of 10 percent salt,
which is equivalent to a water activity of 0.93. Although growth can occur at 7
percent, no toxin has yet been demonstrated at this concentration of salt.
Sweet spreads such as jams, jellies, and fruit butters rely on a high sugar
content to lower the water activity of the fruit to a point where the available water will
not support the growth of microorganisms.
Jams are prepared from practically all fruits and a few vegetables, but small
fruits and berries are the most popular. All fruit must be carefully sorted and washed,
and stems, skin and pits removed. If the fruit is too firm it should be boiled prior to
pulping. Jams are prepared by boiling the whole fruit pulp with sugar to a moderately
thick consistency without retaining the shape of the fruit.
Sugar in the form of sucrose (table sugar) or sucrose mixed with high fructose corn
syrup (HFCS) is added following pulping. The proportion of sugar to fruit is
dependent on the variety, ripeness and desired effect on the fruit. However, the most
common proportion is 1:1, although some fruit require as little as 1/4:1. The
fruit/sugar/water mixture is concentrated by boiling in a steam jacketed kettle. The
average jam reaches a desired concentration at 219-221°F, but this end-point varies
with processing conditions. A jelly thermometer and Abbe refractometer are used to
determine end-point.
Pectin may or may not be added to the mixture based upon the natural pectin
content of the fruit. However, many manufacturers add pectin to maintain consistent
product quality. Jams sold in retail markets have a solids content of 69-70%,
determined using a refractometer, a 27% invert sugar content, and a pH of 3.0-3.5. A
solids content of 75% or greater may result in crystallization of the sugar and
precipitation. After concentration, the jam is packed into a glass container, capped and
pasteurized in boiling water.
Jelly is a gel produced by mixing fruit juice and sugar and concentrating to such a
consistency that gelation occurs. A jelly should retain its shape, and not flow when it is
removed from its container. The FDA strictly defines a jelly as a semi-solid food made
from not less than 45 parts by weight fruit juice to 55 parts sugar. This substance is
concentrated to not less than 65% soluble solids. Pectin and acid are typically added to
overcome deficiencies in the fruit and to maintain consistent product quality.
Unit operations performed in jelly manufacturing include; boiling the fruit,
extracting the juice, clearing the juice, concentrating the jelly, packaging and
pasteurizing. Following pasteurization, the jars are cooled and dried prior to
packaging. As with jams, the concentration (boiling) step is the most critical. The end-
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point (69-70% solids and pH 3.0-3.5) should be reached as soon as possible, and
should be monitored using a thermometer and refractometer.
Fruit butters are prepared from mixtures containing not less than five parts by
weight fruit to two parts of sugar. These products should have a pH less than 4.6 and
should receive a pasteurization process.
1. pH Controlled
The pH scale runs from 0 to 14. The midpoint of the scale (pH=7) is the neutral
point. All pH values less than 7.0 are acid. All pH values above 7.0 are alkaline. Since
this is a logarithmic scale, a change of 1.0 pH unit indicates a ten-fold change in
hydrogen ion concentration (what makes the food acid). For example, a food with a pH
of 4.0 contains ten times as many hydrogen ions as a food at pH 5.0 and one hundred
times that of a food with a pH of 6.0. The pH values of different foods are shown in
Table 4-8.
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Table 4.8. pH range of a Few Selected Fresh, Fermented, and Commercially Canned Food.
76
Food Approximate pH Range Food Approximate pH Range
Jam, Fruit 3.5-4.0 Sardines 5.7-6.6
Jellies, Fruit 3.0-3.5 Sauerkraut 3.1-3.7
Lemons 2.2-2.4 Juice 3.3-3.4
Juice 2.2-2.6 Scallops 6.8-7.1
Lettuce 6.0-6.4 Shrimp 6.8-8.2
Limes 1 .8-2.0 Soda Crackers 6.5-8.5
Juice 2.2-2.4 Soups
Loganberries 2.7-3.5 Bean 5.7-5.8
Mackerel 5.9-6.2 Beef Broth 6.0-6.2
Maple Syrup 6.5-7.0 Chicken Noodle 5.5-6.5
Mayonnaise 3.8-4.0 Clam Chowder 5.6-5.9
Milk Duck 5.0-5.9
Cow; Whole 6.0-6.8 Mushroom 6.3-6.7
Evaporated 5.9-6.3 Noodle 5.6-5.8
Molasses 5.0-5.4 Oyster 6.5-6.9
Mushrooms 6.0-6.5 Pea 5.7-6.2
Olives, ripe 5.9-7.3 Tomato 4.2-5.2
Onions 5.3-5.8 Turtle 5.2-5.3
Oranges 2.8-4.0 Vegetable 4.7-5.6
Juice 3.0-4.0 Spinach 4.8-6.8
Oysters 5.9-6.7 Squash 5.0-5.3
Peaches 3.1-4.2 Strawberries 3.0-4.2
Pears 3.4-4.7 Tomatoes 3.7-4.9
Pickles Juice 3.9-4.7
Dill 2.6-3.8 Tuna 5.9-6.1
Sour 3.0-3.5 Turkey 5.6-Q.0
Sweet 2.5-3.0 Turnips 5.2-5.6
Pimentos 4.3-5.2 Turnip Greens 5.4-5.6
Pineapples Vegetable
Crushed 3.2-4.0 Juice 3.9-4.3
Sliced 3.5-4.1 Mixed 5.4-5.6
Juice 3.4-3.7 Vinegar 2.4-3.4
Plums 2.8-4.6 Walnuts 5.4-5.5
Pork 5.3-6.4 Water
Potatoes Distilled, CO2 6.8-7.0
White, Whole 5.4-6.3 Mineral 6.2-9.4
Sweet 5.3-5.6 Sea 8.0-8.4
Potato Salad 3.9-4.6 Whiting 6.2-7.1
Prune Juice 3.7-4.3 Wines 2.3-3.8
Pumpkin 5.2-5.5 Yogurt 3.8-4.2
Raspberries 2.9-3.7
Rhubarb 2.9-3.3
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pH of the food is a critical factor in determining how much heat is needed. There are
three pH ranges of interest:
a. Low acid food with pH greater than 4.6.
When food has a pH above 4.6 many kinds of microorganisms can grow, some
of which form heat-resistant spores. These foods are called low acid and they require a
sterilization temperature of 240°F (116°C) or higher. One organism in particular,
Clostridium botulinum, forms heat resistant spores. If not killed, this organism can
grow and form a deadly toxin which leads to death from botulism poisoning.
Therefore, the time and temperature of heating must be strictly controlled to ensure
that this microorganism has been completely destroyed. Vegetables (except tomatoes),
meats, fish, and poultry have a pH above 4.6. Some tropical fruits such as banana,
mango, papaya and fig also have a pH above 4.6 when ripe.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires all operators of sterilizing
equipment for low acid foods and acidified foods as well as packaging inspectors, to
pass an examination and become certified retort operators before sterilizing low acid
foods.
b. Acid foods with a pH between 3.7 and 4.5. This includes most fruits and
tomatoes, and tomato products such as ketchup and picante sauces. When the food has
a pH below 4.5 (acid foods) the spore forming microorganisms cannot grow.
Clostridium botulinum cannot grow below pH 4.6. These foods can be sterilized at
212°F (l00°C) or less. For example, the following temperatures give commercial
sterility for fluid foods that are filled at or above the specified temperature, sealed and
held for three minutes before cooling:
pH Minimum fill temperature ( degree F)
3.9 185
4.1 190
4.2 195
4.3 205
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the starter culture, if the temperature during fermentation is unsuitable, or if the
amount of fermentable carbohydrate is inadequate.
These methods are acceptable and are used. However, each requires a certain
amount of control in order to acidify a particular product properly. No single means is
appropriate for all situations. A company may utilize more than one procedure
depending on the kind of products and the scheduled process which the processing
authority has designed from supporting data.
For proper production of an acidified shelf-stable product, there are some
components of the process which should be checked to ensure that the acidification
procedure is working as expected.
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The objective of the thermal process is to destroy vegetative cells of
microorganisms of public health significance and those of non-health significance
capable of reproducing in the food under normal conditions of storage and distribution.
Processed containers should be handled in such a fashion as to prevent damage to the
seals and/ or product recontamination.
2. Physical Nature of the Product. When pieces of solid food are immersed in a
mobile fluid (e.g. fruit in syrup, vegetable in brine) the fluid moves around by
convection currents during heating and the contents heat rapidly. This is called
convection heating. When the food is solid, with no mobile liquid (e.g. corned beef,
cream style corn) the heat penetrates by conduction, which is slower than convection
heating. Conduction heating of food requires a longer time to sterilize than convection
heating.
3. Nature of the Container. Metal conducts heat rapidly while glass conducts heat
slowly. Therefore, glass containers require a longer sterilization time than metal
containers. Metal cans are usually sterilized in steam. Sometimes, acid foods in metal
cans are sterilized in boiling water. Glass jars are always sterilized in boiling water.
When a temperature above 212°F is needed, compressed air is used to produce the
pressure needed to obtain the necessary temperature.
4. Size of Container. A large container requires more time to heat through than a
small container.
Table 4-9 gives examples of the interaction between the physical nature or
viscosity of the product, the pH of the product and the amount of heat that is needed to
obtain commercial sterility in the product.
Table 4-9. Sterilization Process for 1 lb Tin Cans (Closing Temperature 140°F).
Viscosity of Food pH less than 4.6 (acid) pH above 4.6 (low acid)
Low Short time. Low Short time, high
(Convection heating) temperature (e.g. fruits in temperature (e.g. peas in
syrup 15 min at 212F) brine 17 min at 250 F)
High Long time, low Long time, high
(Conduction heating) temperature (e.g. solid temperature (e.g. cream
pack tomatoes. 45 min at style corn. 72 min at 250
212 F) F)
3. Preservatives;
Smoke
Smoke preserves food by several mechanisms. Smoke contains several chemical
preservatives that inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Meats are typically smoked
80
over a fire, so heating and drying also contribute to preservation. If liquid smoke is
used for flavoring purposes, other methods of food preservation should be used to
inhibit the growth of microorganisms.
Chemical Preservatives
A preservative is defined as a chemical compound which is capable of retarding the
decomposition or spoilage of food to which it has been added. Preservatives play a
small but important, and legitimate role in food preservation. A century ago, many
chemicals were added to foods to preserve them or to conceal inferior quality. Many of
them were poisonous and were used in excessive amounts. The abuses of uncontrolled
additions of chemicals to food led to the first pure food laws in the U.S. in 1906. Some
of the objections to the preservatives in food today arise from the days when there was
no control of preservatives in food.
The advantages of chemical preservatives are that they are easy to use, it is simple
to add them to the food, they are cheap, no expensive equipment is needed, and no
complicated processing is needed. The disadvantages are that they can easily be used
in excess unless the amount added to the product is carefully measured, they may
allow careless and unsanitary processing practices, some of the public are fearful about
the presence of preservatives in the food they eat, and some people are allergic to
specific preservatives such as sulfur dioxide.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) closely regulates which chemical
substances may be used as preservatives, the foods to which they may be added, and
the level that can be added.
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Table 4-10. Properties and Use Limits of Commonly Used Preservatives.
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Combinations;
Most highly perishable food products used combinations of preserving
methods. Sausages typically contain high levels of salt, contain nitrites, are heat treated
with they are cooked and may be smoked and distributed under refrigerated conditions.
Jellies are heat treated to kill yeasts and molds but are also preserved by high sugar
thereby reducing the Aw.
C) Microbiology
Introduction to Food Microbiology
This section covers the fundamental aspects of bacteria in food starting with
the history, what they are and how they grow, classification systems and types of
bacteria found in foods. It focuses primarily on bacteria responsible for food spoilage.
Microbiology is the study of living forms so small that they can only be seen with the
aid of a microscope. They have been referred to as germs, microbes, bacteria and
microorganisms.
History
In the early 1700s Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, the inventor of the microscope, was
first to observe these microscopic living forms. He referred to them as “wee beasties”.
In 1810, Nicholas Appert, a French confectioner, place food in glass jars, sealed them
and heated them in boiling water. He did not know at the time that he was killing
spoilage bacteria but invented what is known today as “canning”. In the 1860s, Louis
Pasteur showed that certain microorganisms were responsible for fermentation and
decay of foods. He developed the application of heat to reduce the number of bacteria
which now bears his name (e.g. Pasteurization). In 1895, the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology determined that mysterious spoilage of some canned foods resulted from
the failure to apply sufficient heat to destroy microorganisms.
Microorganisms
Food is “biodegradable” meaning it is degraded back into nature which is
referred to as “spoilage”. Microorganisms cause this transition. The environment is
filled with microorganisms-the air we breathe, the soil, it’s everywhere including in
our food. It is the job of food professionals to control these microorganisms before
they destroy our food. There are hundreds of types of microorganisms. Some cause
food spoilage. Some do absolutely nothing. Some cause foodborne illness and are
called pathogens. Some are beneficial and are used to make fermented foods and
beverages such as beer, wine, sauerkraut, breads, cheeses, pepperoni and other
fermented products. Antibiotics such as penicillin come from molds. Pathogens are
those bacteria that cause foodborne illness. Although there are hundreds of species of
pathogens, the vast majority of foodborne illnesses are caused by just four bacteria.
(Salmonella sp, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens).
Although yeasts, molds and bacteria make up the category of microorganisms, we will
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not be discussing yeasts and mold to any great extent in this section. We will focus
primarily on bacteria since they are the main cause of food spoilage.
Bacteria
Bacteria are most important and troublesome for the food processor. Most
bacteria are harmless in themselves but produce excretions and enzymes that result in
food spoilage. They are single-celled living bodies that are 1/1,000 to 1/25,000 of an
inch in length. The number of these tiny organisms that could be placed on the head of
a pin would equal the population of New York City.
Bacterial growth refers with the way bacteria increase in number. They divide
themselves such that 1 bacteria will produce 2 and 2 become 4 and 4 become 8. This
doesn’t sound too drastic until you realize that there can be several thousand bacteria
per gram of food and they double every so often depending on the environment they
are in. Under optimum conditions, bacteria can double every 20-30 minutes.
Food is generally considered spoiled when the bacterial counts exceed 106 or
107. This is 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 bacteria per gram. Most spoilage is a surface
phenomenon occurring only on the surface of food unless the food is ground or mixed
such as sausage where spoilage occurs on the inside. Bacterial slime is generally on the
order of 108.
Bacterial Classifications
Bacteria can be classified in a number of ways.
A)Shape-Bacteria can be classified by their shape
Round=cocci (round in shape)
Elongated=rods
B) Sporeforming; Some rod-shaped bacteria are sporeformers. This is a dormant stage
in their life cycle. These spores have the ability to survive a wide range of
environmental extremes. They can survive heating up to 212F and are resistant to most
chemicals including sanitizing solutions. The most noteworthy sporeformer is
Clostridium Botulinum.
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Using the above terms we can categorize bacteria based on their optimum temperature
for growth.
1. Psychrotropic-grow best at 58-68F but can grow slowly at refrigeration
temperatures (32-50F).
2. Mesophilic-Grows best at 86-98F . Most food spoilage bacteria grow very well at
these temperatures.
3. Thermophilic-Grow best at 100-150F. Most sporeformers fit in this group.
1) FOOD - Bacteria, like any living organism, need food to live and reproduce. All
food has bacteria on it but high protein and moist starchy foods are the ones most
preferred by bacteria.
Bacteria pH Range
Molds 0.5-11
Yeasts 1.5-8.5
Salmonella 4.5-9.5
Clostridium Botulium 4.8-8.3
Clostridium perfringens 5.0-8.5
Listeria monocytogenes 4.6-9.6
Campylobacter 5.0-9.0
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Table 4- 12; pH RANGES FOR FOODS
Food pH Range
Meat 5.1-6.2
Chicken 6.2-6.4
Fish 6.6-6.8
Fruit 2.9-4.7
Apples 2.9-3.3
Grapes 3.4-4.5
Vegetables 4.8-6.0
Carrot 4.9-5.2
Corn 7.3
Dairy
Milk 6.5-6.6
Cheese 4.9-5.9
3) TIME - Bacteria proliferate over time. This proliferation is accelerated with higher
temperature. Under optimal conditions, some bacteria can double every 20 minutes.
The colder the storage temperature, the longer the potential shelflife of a food.
Potentially hazardous foods should not remain in the danger zone (50-1400F) for more
than 4 hours during the entire food handling process.
4) TEMPERATURE
Bacterial proliferation can be controlled by both heat and cold. Bacteria
generally do not grow at freezer temperatures but they do survive in a dormant mode.
Use of refrigeration temperatures (30-450F) slows down the rate of bacterial
proliferation. The colder the product, the slower the bacterial growth. At the other end
of the temperature curve is the use of heat to control bacteria. There are two important
words to define;
Pasteurization refers to the cooking of food where only a certain number of
bacteria are killed and most pathogens. Pasteurization does not render the product
sterile.
Sterilization refers to the total destruction of all living organisms and is only
found in canned shelf- stable items.
Clostridium botulinum is a bacteria that can form a spore that is very resistant
to heat. It produces a toxin that causes paralysis and is often fatal. It grows well in an
anaerobic (no oxygen), warm (60-115F) environment. Unless a food goes through the
canning procedure (cook in a retort or pressure device of 240-250F for several hours)
it is assumed to have Clostridium spores present. Remember that Clostridium grow
best at 60-115F so you must cool all foods fast after heating. Remember to assume that
all foods except shelf-stable canned foods and high acid foods contain Clostridium
spores and treat them with the proper precautions.
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Table 4-13 shows a bacterial thermometer that indicates how various
temperatures effect bacteria. The most important temperature is that known as the “danger
zone” where some bacteria can double every 20-30 minutes.
5) OXYGEN
Some bacteria require oxygen to grow (aerobic). Some bacteria will not grow
in the presence of oxygen (anaerobic). Most bacteria responsible for food spoilage
require oxygen. Most pathogenic bacteria are anaerobic.
6) MOISTURE
The amount of water available in food for chemical reactions and microbial
growth is called water activity and is referred to as Aw. Water activity is measured
from 0 (totally dry) to 1.0 (pure water). Most bacteria can only grow in foods that have
a water activity higher than 0.90. The water activity available in foods can be reduced
by freezing, dehydration or by adding salt or sugar or other water binders. Table 4-14
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shows the Aw for various microorganisms and some typical Aw values for various
foods.
Table 4- 14; Aw values for various microorganisms and typical Aw values for some
foods.
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-Was the harvesting equipment used and people harvesting the raw products clean
and sanitary?
Red Meat
-The muscle of livestock (beef and hogs) is considered fairly sterile while the animal is
alive, however within several hours after the animal dies, the immune system ceases to
function and bacteria from the gut begin to migrate through the intestinal walls toward
the muscle itself.
-In addition, after slaughter, the hide is removed causing bacteria from the hide to
be released into the air, some of which fall back onto the carcass surface.
-Bacteria from the intestinal tract include Enterobacter, Micrococcus and Proteus.
-Bacteria that are on the surface of carcasses include Pseudomonas, Micrococcus,
Corynebacterium, Proteus, Aeromonas, Moraxella, Acinetobacter, Escherichia and
Enterobacter.
-All of these are ubiquitous inhabitants of the common environment
- Common Types of Spoilage of Fresh Meats include;
-Souring (aerobic)-Chromobacterium, Pseudomonas, Lactobacillus.
-Putrefaction-Clostridium, Pseudomonas, Chromobacterium, Proteus.
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-Souring-Chromobacterium, Bacillus, Pseudomonas,
-Greening-Lactobacillus
-Slimy-Leuconostoc
Poultry
-Poultry are very similar to red meat in intestinal bacteria and surface bacteria to
include Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Micrococcus,
Corynebacterium, Proteus, Chromobacterium, Escherichia and Enterobacter.
-Salmonella is quite common in poultry
- Common Types of Spoilage of Poultry include;
Odor & Slime-Chromobacterium, Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes
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Fermented Foods
-Soil and plants harbor large numbers of Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc and Pediococcus.
In fermented products such as pickles, sauerkraut and olives, we allow these natural
occurring bacteria to convert carbohydrates to lactic acid thereby lowering the pH.
The bacterial selection is conducted by using high salt solutions (called brines) that
allow only certain types of bacteria to live.
Common Types of Spoilage of Fermented Vegetables include;
-Slimy kraut-Lactobacillus plantarum
-Soft pickles-Bacillus
-Black pickles-Bacillus nigrificans
D. FOOD PRESERVATION
Food is designed by Mother Nature to spoil. This now has a term-”Biodegradable”.
Eggs, milk and meat are perfect bacterial growth mediums. Food is extremely
“biodegradable” and as food professionals, our job involves finding and implementing
steps that keep food from spoiling and reduce or eliminate the pathogens that might be
present.
Controlling Bacteria
Controlling bacteria in foods has been going on for centuries starting with the
caveman discovering fire to cook meat, the use of saltpeter by Egyptians to cure meat
through Europeans making fermented, dried sausages. Leviticus and Deuteronomy
chapters of the Old Testament in the Bible have numerous references on what to eat
and how food should be prepared. Most of the old methods of food preservation were
probably discovered by accident with the theory of “let’s see if this works” or by long
term observation. Over the last 100 years, mainly since the discovery of bacteria, great
strides have been made at discovering how to preserve food mainly through the study
of microbiology. Food preservation has gone from an art to a science
Controlling Bacteria
There are basically 5 categories of things we know we can do to control bacteria.
*Control initial bacteria counts
*Control and use of temperature
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*Control oxygen
*Control moisture
*Control acidity
Control Oxygen
There are a number of spoilage bacteria that require oxygen to grow (aerobics). By
eliminating oxygen from the food, we can drastically slow down decomposition. Note
the number of meat products sold in vacuum packages. Some foods can also be
distributed in nitrogen-containing atmospheres which is a method of displacing
oxygen.
Control Moisture
Drying of food products is certainly not new. The control of the water activity (Aw) is
the key. High sugar items like honey, jellies and molasses do not generally spoil from
bacteria because the sugar ties up the available moisture. Cereals and bakery items
such as breads do not typically spoil from bacteria because their moisture content is so
low.
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Control Acidity
By keeping food products in an acidified condition, we can control bacteria.
Clostridium botulinum will not grow below pH=4.6. Many soft drinks have low pHs to
keep them from spoiling by bacteria. Pickles, olives, sauerkraut are preserved by their
low pH. The old rule was that if you eat acid foods, you will never get food poisoning.
We do find some exceptions to this age-old rule but it remains true for the most part.
E. Pathogens;
INTRODUCTION
Pathogens are bacteria that cause food poisoning. Foodborne illness or food
poisoning is far more common than most people realize. People often say the family
came down with the flu but in reality, the family ate the same food which had some
pathogenic bacteria. Pathogens range in symptoms. Some cause only flu-like
symptoms for a few days while some are fatal such as botulism. Although it may
appear from the following information that there are numerous pathogenic
microorganisms in foods, in actuality, our food supply is safer than any other country
in the world and safer than any other time in the history of mankind. The number of
cases of foodborne illnesses caused by pathogens can be drastically reduced through
the use of certain food handling practices. The estimated illnesses from foodborne
pathogens range from 6 million to 81 million people per year. Keep in mind that there
are about 286 million people in the U.S. The estimated annual medical costs,
productivity losses and costs of premature deaths due to the 5 major foodborne
illnesses is estimated at $6.9 billion per year. The breakdown of the number of
illnesses per year from various pathogens can be found in Table 4-15.
It is hard to get an accurate number since most cases are not reported and many are
never diagnosed. The CDC estimates that 78% of pathogen outbreaks occur as a result
of poor food handling practices in commercial and institutional establishments while
only 22% occur due to food handling practices in private residences. Very few
pathogenic illnesses can be attributed to actual food processing facilities but has been
estimated to be about 3%.
CLASSES OF PATHOGENS
Pathogens are defined as microorganisms that cause illness and possibly death.
They can be classified as bacteria, molds, yeasts, parasites and viruses. The number of
foodborne illnesses and deaths contributed to these pathogens can be found in tables 4-
16, 4-17 and 4-18.
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Table 4- 16; Number of cases per year of bacteria, parasites and viruses.
Pathogen % Deaths
Bacteria 72%
Parasites 21%
Viruses 7%
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Table 4-18; The 5 Specific Pathogens that Account for 98% of Estimated Deaths
Pathogen % Deaths
Salmonella 31%
Listeria 28%
Toxoplasma 21%
Norwalk-like viruses 7%
Campylobacter 5%
E.Coli 0157;H7 3%
After looking at the numbers in the above tables, it would appear that viruses
are a major problem but one has to remember that it is very hard to get an accurately
identified source when working with viruses. Many viruses cannot live outside a host
animal and are hard to quantitate. Parasites do not represent a major category of
foodborne illness. Bacteria are the single largest concern for food processors in terms
of both spoilage and pathogens.
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Table 4-19; Potentially Hazardous Foods
There are some pathogens listed in Table 4-21 that cause some diseases that you might
remember from history. Diseases like diphtheria, tuberculosis and cholera are rare in
the U. S now because we understand how they grow and control them.
DISEASE PATHOGEN
Anthrax Bacillus anthrax
Diphtheria Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Tuberculosis Microbacterium tuberculosis
Scarlet/Rheumatic fever Streptococcus pyogenes
Cholera Vibrio cholerae
Gonorrhea Neisseria gonorrhea
Plaque Yersinia pestis
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There are basically three catagories of foodborne diseases that can be carried or
transmitted to humans by food. They include 1)Foodborne infection, 2) Foodborne
intoxication or poisoning and 3) Foodborne toxico-infection. They are defined in Table
4- 22.
Listed in Table 4-23 are various diseases and the pathogens that cause them along with
characteristics, type of foodborne illness and symptoms.
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Table 4-23; Pathogenic diseases and their characteristics, type and symptoms.
Staphylococcal Food Staphylococcus does not form spores, foodborne nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps,
Poisoning aureas is facultative and is intoxication or and diarrhea. Sources of contamination
very heat sensitive poisoning. include skin, hair, nose, throat, infected
sores (boils & whiteheads) and animals.
Foods associated with contamination
include meat, poultry, egg products,
milk and dairy products, potato salad,
custards and salad dressings
Bacillus cereus forms spores and is causes both
facultative. toxin-mediated Infection-watery diarrhea, abdominal
infections cramps, pain, nausea. *Intoxication-
(causing nausea and vomiting;
diarrhea) and sometimes abdominal cramps and
intoxication diarrhea. Sources of contamination
(causing include soil and dust, cereal crops, skin
vomiting). infection (whiteheads on skin). Cooking
kills the vegetative cells but can cause
spores to germinate, making reheated
foods a problem.Foods involved;
Infection-meat, milk, vegetables, fish.
*Intoxication-rice products, starchy
foods,
sauces, puddings, soups.
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BOTULISM Clostridium forms spores and is Causes food vomiting and constipation or diarrhea
botulinum anaerobic intoxication or initially with progressive fatigue,
poisoning. weakness, vertigo, blurred or double
vision, breathing paralysis, dry mouth
eventually leading to paralysis and
death. Has been found in almost all
foods but initially coming from soil and
water.
CAMPYLOBACTERIOSIS Campylobacter does not form spores. foodborne bloody diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting,
jejuni infection abdominal pain, headache and muscle
pain. Sources of contamination include
domestic and wild animals. Foods
associated with contamination include
unpasteurized milk and dairy products,
raw poultry and non-chlorinated or
fecal-contaminated water.
Escherichia Coli does not form spores, toxin-mediated diarrhea (may become bloody), severe
0157:H7 is facultative and has infection abdominal cramps, kidney failure and
survived freezing and possibly death. Source of contamination
low pH (below pH is from the GI tract of animals and
4.0). Can grow at humans. Food associated include: Raw
refrigeration or undercooked meat and poultry.
temperatures Unpasteurized milk and dairy products
and fruit juices. Vegetables from manure
fertilized fields. Non-chlorinated water.
VIBRIO Spp Vibrio do not form spores; foodborne diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea,
parahaemolyticus More common in infection vomiting, headache and sometimes
and Vibrio warmer months. death in immuno-compromised
vulnificus individuals. Most commonly found in
oysters and shellfish from the Gulf of
Mexico. Foods involved are raw or
partially cooked oysters and shellfish.
YERSINIOSIS Yersinia does not form spores, foodborne fever and severe abdominal pain
enterocolitica is facultative, can infection (mimics appendicitis). Possibly diarrhea,
survive at a pH usually in headache, sore throat or vomiting.
below 4.5 and can young people ( Source is soil, water, domestic and wild
grow at refrigeration 10-12 years animals, rodents. Foods most commonly
temperatures. old). involved include meats, oysters and fish,
unpasteurized milk and dairy products
and non-chlorinated water.
PARASITES
TRICHINOSIS Trichinella a roundworm that Early symptoms include nausea,
spiralis burrows into the diarrhea, abdominal pain, occasional
muscle of the host vomiting, swelling around the eyes and
and causes infection. fever. Later symptoms include muscle
soreness, thirst, extreme sweating, chills,
bleeding and fatigue. Generally from
meat animals that eat off the ground or
in garbage dumps. Pork used to be the
common vehicle to humans but proper
cooking and the fact that hogs are now
reared in confinement have reduced the
incidence. Wild game such as bears and
raccoons are the most common carriers.
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TOXOPLASMOSIS Toxoplasma Often there are no symptoms. When
gondii symptoms occur, they include enlarged
lymph nodes in the head and neck,
severe headaches, muscle pain and rash.
Individuals with compromised immune
systems such as HIV-infected people
and pregnant women and their fetuses
are at most risk. It is not passed by
person to person contact. Cats are a
common source. Pregnant women
should avoid emptying cat litter box.
Food sources include raw or
undercooked meat especially pork, lamb,
venison and raw vegetables.
VIRUSES
Hepatitus A or Hepatovirus infection of the liver Symptoms include discomfort, fatigue,
headache, nausea, loss of appetite,
vomiting, abdominal pain and jaundice
and may appear weeks/months after
exposure. Transmitted to foods either by
poor personal hygiene or contaminated
water. Human feces is the main
reservoir. Food sources that may be
contaminated include water, ice,
shellfish, cold cuts and sandwiches, milk
or dairy products or any food that does
not receive a further heat treatment.
Also, fruits and vegetables that are
washed with infected water or
contaminated by infected humans or
animals may contain Hepatitis A .
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regular humans
components of -Scrapie in sheep and goats
neurological -Chronic Wasting Disease in deer
tissues in and elk
animals. When in Wisconsin and Colorado.
these proteins
become
abnormally
shaped, they are
able to transform
molecules of
normally shaped
protein with
which they come
in contact to the
abnormal prion
configuration.
This process is
repeated
numerous times
until the number
of abnormally-
shaped
molecules causes
overt illness.
A word about viruses. Viruses can only multiple in living cells (hosts) and are very
hard to kill while in humans. They do not multiply in foods because of the temperature
range that foods are kept in do not foster their growth. In addition, viruses are quite
easily killed at fairly low temperatures when food is cooked however, food may
become infected with viruses after cooking by human carriers or by contaminated
water.
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THE COMMON FOODBORNE ILLNESSS
As previously mentioned, 98% of food illnesses are caused by 4 pathogens. The
next 3 tables show the sources, mode of transmission and symptoms of these 4 major
pathogens.(Tables 4-24, 4-25 and 4-26)
Pathogen Source
Pathogen Transmission
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Table 4-26; Symptoms of Common Pathogens that Cause Foodborne Ilnesses
Pathogen Symptoms
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by the loss of moisture of the surface of foods in a freezer, ice crystal damage from
slow freezing and color loss of some foods. A table of shelflife values for some frozen
foods can be found in Table 4-3.
G) Code Dating;
Most foods are required to have a code date on them. The code provides a
means for tracking product should there be complaints or if a recall is necessary. The
code should consist of where the product is manufactured, the date and year it was
manufactured, the product and batch number.. In order to recall a product, the
processor must be able to identify the product involved and determine the distribution
of that product. A code-dating system needs to be part of the company's policy. Print
production date code on all finished product packages and/or cases. This code can
identify the production date, shift, or hour of production and/or lot or batch number,
and production facility. Each processor may devise its own variation of coding. It is
important that a meaningful product coding be established and a record-keeping
system be adopted so individual lots of the product can be traced from the processing
facility to the end user. Use the code date on all quality control records, production
reports, and shipping forms.
H) RECALLS:
This section on recalls is to be used as a guide for the teaching of the
fundamentals involved in recalls but because of the seriousness, varying codes by
various agencies (USDA vs FDA), type of product and method of processing, every
food processing plant should have a recall policy that is developed after careful
consideration of the regulations, product mix, customer base, method of processing
and distribution etc. Recalls should be initiated by a company and are classified into
one of three categories;
1) Market Withdrawal
2) Stock Recovery
3) Product Recall
MARKET WITHDRAWAL
A Market Withdrawal is the situation where no violation is involved or the
violation is minor and not subject to seizure under current USDA or FDA policy and
guidelines. An example would be a product with poor quality as defined by the
manufacturing company.
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STOCK RECOVERY
A Stock Recovery is a situation where none of the product has left the direct
control of the manufacturer or primary distributor. This type of action would be a
product recall or market withdrawal if the product were in the distribution channels.
PRODUCT RECALL
A true Product Recall is a voluntary action by a company that marketed the
product and is defined as removing from the market and distribution channels those
products that are adulterated or misbranded to the extent that it is subject to seizure
under current FDA or USDA policy and guidelines. Product recalls are an efficient and
effective means of removing sizable products from the marketplace. The alternative to
recalls is the seizure or other legal actions by regulatory agencies. Recalls are
classified as Class I, Class II or Class III depending on the severity of consequences.
Class I Recalls
Class I recalls represent emergency situations and involve the removal from the
market of products in which the consequences may be either immediate or long-range,
life threatening, and involve a direct cause-effect relationship such as the presence of
Clostridium botulinum toxin in foods. When such circumstances occur, the FDA
requires that the recall be made to the consumer level, that the product be placed on the
public recall list and that a public warning be issued via the news media. The
effectiveness check for Class I recalls must be such as to assure 100 percent removal
of all known direct accounts and sub-accounts and, if necessary, product in possession
of consumers.
Class II Recalls
Class II recalls represent priority situations (as opposed to emergency for Class
I recalls) in which the consequence may be either immediate or long-range and with
possible or potential life threatening or hazardous to health situation. These might
include conditions such as: the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in food
exclusive of Clostridium botulinum, improper calibration of thermometers,
unnecessary exposure to radiation, etc. For a Class II recall, the FDA requires that the
product be removed to the retail or dispensing level; that notice of the recall be placed
on the public recall list; and when in the public interest there is a need that there be a
press release announcing the recall. The effectiveness check for such a recall would be
made on removal adequacy at levels reflecting the degree of consumer hazard
associated with the violation.
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III recall would be an exception rather than the rule. FDA may request the firm to
submit a statement attesting to the amount of stocks returned and the disposition of
them.
The objectives of a recall policy are; 1) Locate the product, 2) Remove the product
from the market and 3) Provide accurate information to government agencies and
consumers/customers when appropriate.
This is obviously a very simplified version of what would happen. Anyone who
has ever survived a recall can tell you, it is a gut-wrenching experience and one to be
avoided at all costs. Because the numerous variables between products, manufacturing
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methods, government regulations and other variables, one is best advised to have a
recall policy and plan written up in detail.
I) HACCP
Introduction
This section discusses what HACCP is, the history of HACCP, what it does and
how you can use it. Keep in mind that it is a very basic presentation of a complex
subject. Although HACCP is required in some food companies, its methodology can
also be used for quality improvements in the food processing arena.
What is HACCP?
HACCP is short for ‘Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point”. HACCP is a
scientifically-based management system for food safety. HACCP uses a written plan
which focuses on how potentially hazardous foods are handled in a food processing
environment. HACCP is a state–of-the-art approach to consistent safe food production.
HACCP is proactive and prevention-oriented focusing on preventing or controlling
food safety hazards that fall into three main categories; biological, chemical and
physical. HACCP is really all about prevention. Knowledge of the hazards and
procedures to control the hazards will prevent foodborne illness in food processing
plants. Identify a potential problem early and prevent it from becoming a real problem
later.
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3) Establish critical limits for preventive measurements associated with each identified
CCP.
4) Establish CCP monitoring requirements. Establish procedures for using the results
of monitoring to adjust the process and maintain the control.
The Seven Principles of HACCP
5) Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring indicates that there is a
deviation from an established critical limit.
6) Establish effective record-keeping procedures that document the HACCP system.
7) Establish procedures for verification that the HACCP system is working correctly.
HACCP Definitions
Hazard - the capability of something to cause harm.
Risk - A condition or set of conditions that will lead to a hazard.
Critical Control Point - an operation, practice or procedure where unacceptable health
risks might result if something goes wrong. Preventative measures at critical points
will eliminate, prevent or minimize hazards.
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Step #5; Describe the Food and its Intended Use
The HACCP team should do a complete description of each food product as shown
in Table 2.1. The team should gather information on how the product is formulated
including ingredients and the processing procedures used.
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Step #10; Set Critical Limits
Once a CCP is identified, critical limits are established and monitored to indicate
whether the CCP is “in control”-the state when correct procedures are being followed
and criteria are being met. A critical limit (CL) is set for each CCP to determine
whether a preventive measure must be taken.
Critical Limits should be;
*Designed to indicate whether a CCP is in or out of control.
*Simple, specific and clear.
*Based on scientifically determined parameters and quantifiable.
Critical limits are associated with preventative measures that have been identified
for each critical control point such as temperature, time, humidity, moisture level,
water activity, pH and salt concentration. If the CCPs are monitored and immediate
corrective actions initiated when appropriate, hazards will be prevented, eliminated or
reduced to acceptable levels.
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Conclusions
HACCP is a scientifically based management system for food safety based on
prevention. HACCP is based on identifying potential problems early and preventing
them from becoming a real problem later. This series presented the 7 principles and 14
steps involved in HACCP as an introduction to the subject. In actuality, the
implementation and advancement of HACCP in the food processing business is a
continuous, scientifically based program requiring professionals with years of
experience and knowledge.
J) BIOTERRORISM
Security of our Food Supply
The security of our food supply is of paramount importance. This section deals
with tampering or other malicious, criminal or terrorists actions to our food supply. For
the purpose of brevity, let’s consider these as acts of terrorism and that terrorism refers
to acts by persons or organizations of either national or international origins.
Prior to and during the great depression, 95% of Americans lived on farms and
could raise their own food. Now, less than 1% of the population lives on farms. This
means that 99% of Americans depend on agriculture and food manufacturers and
distributors for their food supply. Not only do Americans depend on rural agriculture,
food manufacturers and distributors for their food supply but they trust that it will be
safe, nutritious, abundant and an economical value. Since the vast majority of
Americans are dependent of our food supply, it makes our food supply an excellent
target for certain groups to promote their agenda by terrorism. Terrorism can be
defined as “The use of terror, violence and intimidation to achieve an end”. There are
certain groups both domestic and international who believe so strongly in their cause
that they use unscrupulous methods to instill fear in their opponents making them more
agreeable to their way of thinking.
Why Bioterrorism?
The use of biological agents on humans, livestock and plants to instill terror in
their opponents is not new. Most discussions on terrorism to date have centered on
humans but using livestock and plants and the food produced from them is not only
possible but has been used in the past. Bioterrorism has been referred to as “the poor
man’s nuclear arsenal”.
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clothing to kill South American Indians. During the French and Indian War, smallpox -
contaminated blankets were given to the Indians by the English.Recent Bioterrorism.
During WW I, German secret agents introduced glanders to horse populations in New
York and Virginia. They also attempted to introduce anthrax to horses and mules in
Maryland. In addition, they used a combination of glanders and anthrax on horses,
mules, cattle, sheep and reindeer in Norway, Romania, France, Spain and Argentina.
During WW II, the Germans continued to develop biological agents for use against
livestock as well as humans. The British made anthrax cakes to drop on German cattle.
The US and Canada developed feather bombs laced with hog cholera and Newcastle
virus for poultry for use on German livestock.
Recent Bioterrorism
In 1992, a year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia admitted to a
program code-named “Ecology” that produced biological agents aimed specifically at
livestock, poultry and plants that employed tens of thousands of people in at least 8
separate production plants. Animal weapons included foot and mouth disease,
rinderpest, classical swine fever (hog cholera), African swine fever and sheep and goat
pox viruses. After the fall of the Soviet Union, some scientists went to the United
States, Great Britain and other European countries. But others ended up in Iraq and
other decidedly “unfriendly” countries. American Life Changes Forever With the
bombings at Kenya, Tanzania, and other terrorist’s acts ultimately leading up to the
World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of September 11, 2001, the free life style we
enjoy came to an end. Although we cannot allow terrorism to totally control our lives,
we must become vigilant of the possibilities that exist.
Terrorist’s Attack
Those things could “theoretically” happen but if we proactively think and plan for
the possibility that it will, the effects will be minimized. Remember that the goal of
terrorism is to instill fear. The actual effects of a terrorists’ act are usually far less than
the paralyzing effects of fear itself. The producers of all livestock, poultry and crops
should be aware of what to do if a disease breaks out whether it be a natural case or
one initiated by an act of terrorism. The key words of action are;
*PREVENT
*RESPOND
*MINIMIZE THE ADVERSE EFFECTS
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PREVENT
Always do what you can to prevent a natural disease from occurring and note any
suspicious activity in your area by unknown people. In the past, agricultural producers
have been extremely good at this.
RESPOND TO
If a disease breaks out, respond to it quickly and methodically. The faster a
producer responds to a crisis, the lesser the effects will be. Contact your local
Cooperative Extension agent. They have a list of veterinarians and crop specialists
who can diagnose the problem and can mobilize all the necessary agencies necessary
to contain the spread.
Food Processors
Food Producers, Processors and Transporters; Food Security Preventative Measures
Guidance;
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/secguid6.html.
Food Importers
Importers and Filers: Food Security Preventative Measures Guidance.
http://www.cfsan.fda.goc/~dma/secguid7.html.
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Depending on your business, we suggest that someone from every company have
one designated person obtain a copy of the appropriate guidance document, study it
and make recommendations to implement the suggestions that are pertinent to their
business.
The FDA only published these as “guidelines” to help the food industry. They are only
for guidance and are not legally binding.
Exempt from registration are farms, retail food establishments, restaurants, non-profit
establishments that prepare food for or serve food directly to consumers, fishing
vessels not engaged in processing and facilities regulated exclusively by the
USDA/FSIS.
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5. Organization /Operations/ Management
A) Introduction;
B) Organization of a Food Company;
C) Operations of a Food Processing Plant;
D) Copacking of Food Products;
E) Crisis Management;
A) Introduction;
This chapter is for people who are either in the food processing business or
who are writing business plans to start a food processing business and want to know
the operation of a food company and the operations side of the business. In addition,
copacking or co-manufacturing and the development of a crisis management plan are
also discussed.
Organizational Structure
The purpose of an organizational structure is to organize the outcome of the
major functions of a company. It is generally believed that a manager can only
effectively manage 4-7 people depending on what is being managed and how good
the manager is. Therefore, a President of a company cannot effectively manager all
functions of a food company. To understand the idea behind organizational
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structures, let’s first go through a basic Army organizational structure. The Army
organizational structure is shown in Figure 5-1.
Commander
Executive Officer
Note that any basic Army unit whether it is a battalion or brigade has this same
basic organizational structure. It has a leader (Commander) and his backup
(Executive Officer). It covers the basic functions needed to carry out the mission
(Personnel, Intelligence, Operations, Logistics and Civil Affairs). What if a food
company was organized like the Army? The short answer is it is but varies slightly
because the mission is different. A typical organization of a food company is
shown in Figure 5-2. Note that the functions would line up fairly well. BUT the
major functions of a food company are not the same in real life because the
mission is different. The mission of the Army is to impose their will upon the
enemy. In food companies, the mission is to get and keep a customer.
The next chart shows a basic theoretical structure of a food company. Since
food companies differ widely in size, products and ways in which they go to market,
the organizational structures will differ greatly but this structure does point out the
major functions common to almost all food companies.
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Figure 5-2; The Basic Organizational Structure of a Food Company
President
MAJOR FUNCTIONS
Marketing
Most major food companies spend millions per year on marketing. Marketing
works on how to increase sales. Food companies can be marketing-driven or sales
driven. In marketing driven companies, marketing decides what to sell and the sales
department sells it. In sales driven companies, marketing supports the sales staff.
Marketing people work on advertising, coupons, fact sheets, promotions etc.
Marketing people tend to be very creative. In some companies, marketing people are
product managers. Product managers are people who manage a category of products
and have profit and loss responsibility.
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Sales
Sales people are the “front line troops” of any company. Their job is to get
increased sales of what production can make. Sales can be organized within a
company to sell along a sales channel such as retail, food service, national accounts or
international sales. Sales personnel can work as sales representatives assisting retailers
or national account chains to increase sales. Large account representatives work with
major retailers, brokers and restaurants to increase sales.
Manufacturing/ Production
Manufacturing or production is the function that makes the food product. They
make finished products from raw materials in the quantity specified by sales. They
make products according to specifications. Many food manufacturing plants may have
25-500 SKUs (Stock keeping units or actual products). Manufacturing often spends
capital to decrease production costs through automation. Food processing plants are
very expensive to operate. Therefore, most food processing plants try to run 2 shifts
per day and run on weekends if possible. They are often referred to as the “hidden
heroes” of most food companies. They often contain some of the important minor
functions or departments such as human resources, maintenance, quality control or
quality assurance, distribution and warehousing, etc
Minor Functions
Product Managers
Some companies have product managers who are responsible to manage a
product line. Some companies use marketing to perform this function. They are also
responsible for inventory control, and setting the sales price.
Customer Service
Customer service agents are the people who talk to customers and handle
complaints. In some companies, they may receive product orders from food stores or
restaurants when sales personnel are true sales representatives. Customer service can
report to either the vice president of sales or the vice president of marketing.
Quality Control
Quality control or sometimes called quality assurance personnel usually report
to the plant manager in manufacturing. Their job includes such routine practices as
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inspection of incoming raw materials, conducting inspections while products are being
made such as temperature measurements and operational sanitation and inspection of
finished products. The current manufacturing philosophy is that quality cannot be
inspected into products but must be manufactured into them. Correspondingly, QC/QA
works to help manufacturing to build quality into finished products. Over the past
decade, the emphasis on food safety has required an increased role of QA/QC people
such that some companies now have separated QA/QC into two groups, one involved
with food safety and one involved in quality. QA/QC people generally have the
responsibility of running chemical and microbiological laboratories.
Human Resources
Human resources is the department that provide for the human resources
needed to run manufacturing. They usually report to the plant manager. Their job is to
recruit, interview perspective employees, do payroll, set up educational classes, file
and audit evaluations, work in matters of human resources policies such as equal
opportunity issues, sexual harassment, lawsuits etc.
Purchasing/ Procurement
Purchasing /procurement personnel buy raw materials and ingredients for
production. They must coordinate purchasing of these raw materials and packaging
with production plans to manufacture. They are usually part of the manufacturing
group. New practices in purchasing and procurement include “just in time delivery”
and strategic purchasing. Just in time delivery is when raw materials arrive at the
manufacturing plant at the very time production is starting thereby minimizing the
need for warehousing. Strategic purchasing is seen in larger companies where one
supplier of raw materials may provide supplies to several manufacturing plants.
Personality/Culture
Like people, companies have personalities. These personalities are the culture
adapted by upper management as to what they value and believe in. The President
usually dictates culture. They can be sales, marketing, technology or production
driven/ oriented depending on the product line and how management wants to “go to
market”. Part of the personality/culture of a company is understanding it’s priorities.
The overall goals of most food companies are 1)” to get and keep a customer”
followed by 2) “building shareholder wealth”. Building shareholder wealth means that
the company is increasing in dividends paid out to shareholders or the increase in the
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value of the stock on the stock market. To increase shareholder wealth, we have to
prioritize what we think will improve the companies performance.
Performance Criteria
Imagine yourself as a president of a small food processing company. What are
the things you should do to increase the value of your company. Listed below are what
I think are important in priority order that will increase the value of your company.
1) Increase Market Share – These are the things you do to increase sales volume. It is
usually done through new products, advertising, etc. This is the single most important
thing you need to do.
2) Food Safety- Although food safety may not directly increase shareholder wealth,
any recall or negative publicity can kill you company in short order.
3) Quality- Quality can mean different things to different people but I like to think of
quality as adherence to a specification. Manufacturing must make products to a
specification.
4) Yield- The yield from manufacturing often surprises people not familiar with
product. It seems like a trivial factor but can add up to a large number when you are
producing thousands of pounds of product in a single day. Yield is real important in
companies that utilize expensive raw materials such as meat and least important to the
baking industry due to the inexpensive price of wheat.
5) Labor- As a company gets larger, the cost of labor begins to become more
important. No matter what field you are in, you can generally figure labor will be 55-
70% of your operating costs. It may even be higher when you figure in benefits such as
medical, retirement plans, etc. As companies get larger, they realize the importance of
automation and cost savings projects.
RAW INGREDIENTS;
Ordering and Receiving - It stands to reason that good quality ingredients are needed
in order to produce a good quality processed food. It is impossible to produce good
quality products from inferior quality raw materials. However, a poor quality product
can be manufactured from good quality ingredients. For this reason, food processors
should have specifications for the quality of the ingredients that they use for
manufacturing purposes.
Processors that are large enough to have a quality control laboratory will have
detailed specifications for all their ingredients. These specifications usually include:
1) Chemical composition (for example, moisture, acidity, fat, protein, pH, etc.)
2) Microbiological counts for potential spoilage or disease organisms
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3) Physical characteristics (color, size, shape, freedom from blemishes, etc.)
4) Sensory quality (odor, taste, texture) functionality (a requirement that the ingredient
perform in a specified manner)
5) Container type and size for delivering the ingredients.
Small scale processors that do not have a quality control laboratory to check all
the incoming ingredients should still check their ingredients relying primarily on
sensory tests. Does the product look normal, smell normal, taste and feel normal?
Reliable suppliers may charge a little more. But, if it is known that the products
they provide are always wholesome, safe and functional, it will probably be worth the
extra cost involved for reliable ingredients.
Everybody hopes that there will never be a bad batch of raw materials but this
does happen occasionally and it can cost a lot of money to discard unsatisfactory
products. Therefore, even the smallest processor should check the incoming
ingredients at least by sensory methods to ensure that they comply with specifications.
Handling and Storage - Raw materials should be received into a storage area which is
separated from the manufacturing zone. This area should be kept clean. Good
housekeeping should always be maintained in order to prevent infestation with insects,
rodents, and other pests that may damage the raw materials. For some products
refrigerated or frozen storage is needed. These too should always be kept clean. They
need to be defrosted at regular intervals and the equipment needs to be functioning
properly.
Raw ingredients should be taken from the warehouse on a first-in first-out basis
into the manufacturing area. After conversion to a finished product materials should be
taken to another storage area.
PRE-PRESERVATION STEPS;
The steps that are performed before preservation are determined by the nature
of the product that is being manufactured. Small scale operations usually use the batch
system; that is, sufficient material is weighed out to make one batch which is prepared
and sent off to the filling line and then the next batch is weighed out and prepared.
Large scale manufacturing operations prefer to use continuous high volume processing
lines whenever possible, but this requires a major investment in sophisticated
equipment.
In batch operations each ingredient needs to be measured out in the correct
amount. There are two methods for measuring:
a) By weight. This is suitable for both dry and liquid materials. Scales need to be
checked for accuracy periodically.
b) By volume. The containers used to measure liquid foods should be quickly rinsed
after each use before the next batch is prepared. Volume measures for dry
ingredients should be kept dry.The measuring equipment should match the amount
of material that needs to be measured. For example, for a dry mix a large capacity
scale is needed to weigh out the major ingredients such as salt and sugar and a
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smaller set of scales is needed to weigh out minor ingredients such as spices and
preservatives.
A check list should be established for each batch to ensure that every ingredient
is added in the correct amount, none is left out, and no ingredient is put in twice. If
this is not done, there will be an occasional batch in which the formula will be out of
balance because the formulation has not been performed correctly. For example, salt
often represents 1 to 2 % by weight of a mixture; if it is left out, the product tastes
unusual but it is difficult to identify exactly why it does not taste normal.
Frozen ingredients may need to be thawed. As discussed in the section on
freezing, large quantities of frozen materials need to be thawed under refrigerated
conditions to prevent undesirable growth of microorganisms during the thawing
process.
Fruits and vegetables need to be washed and some of them need to be peeled.
Depending on the product they may need to be cut or pureed; specialized equipment is
available for these purposes.
Animal products (meat, poultry, fish, eggs) need to be kept refrigerated as long
as possible to prevent microbial growth in the pre-preservation step. If these products
are to be cut or ground, it is essential to maintain good sanitation of the equipment and
good hygiene of the operators who are handling the equipment and the material.
Dry powders such as flour and confectioner’s sugar need to be handled in such
a way that dust is minimized.
The operator needs to be alert at all times and carefully watch the product to
make sure that everything is normal as the process proceeds from one step to the next.
Heating
Heating generally causes damage to the color, flavor and texture of the product,
but it is often essential for the sake of processing. The longer the product is heated the
more damage is done to the quality. Therefore, it is advisable to both heat the product
to the required temperature then cool it as quickly as possible so that the desirable
effects of heat are achieved with a minimum abuse to the color, flavor, and texture.
Many vegetables and some fruit are blanched prior to processing. Blanching
involves immersion of the fruit or vegetable in hot water or steam (typically 2-5 min at
194-203oF). Blanching has many functions including: inactivation of enzymes
responsible for loss of quality, partial cooking and softening to allow easier packing,
washing of cut surfaces, removal of air from tissues, and shrinkage of tissues to
facilitate container fill.
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should have a thick metal bottom to minimize burning. Gas or electric heat may be
used but most small processors seem to prefer gas heat.
For larger processing operations a steam jacketed kettle is ideal for heating or
for evaporation of liquids because it heats the product quickly. However, this requires
the installation of a steam boiler which increases the capital cost substantially over
large pots on a kitchen stove.
Finish Point
A test is needed to determine when the product that is being processed is
finished and ready to be packed into containers. For this purpose, simple rapid tests
that cause minimum delay in the packing and filling operation are preferred.
Depending on the product that is being manufactured, the test of the finishing point
might be one or more of the following:
1) Temperature (thermometer)
2) Brix (refractometer)
3) Consistency (viscometer or consistometer)
4) Acidity (titration)
5) pH (pH meter)
6) Color (colorimeter)
The test or tests that are used to establish the finish point need to be performed
carefully every time a batch is prepared in order to obtain a uniform quality product
from batch to batch.
The capacity of the pre-preservation steps should match the capacity of the
filling and closing equipment. The quality of the product will deteriorate if the
finished product is delayed for long periods of time waiting to be filled.
PACKAGING
The finished product needs to be filled into packages that allow the customer to
purchase a convenient amount at one time. Empty packages should be clean and
sanitary before filling.
There are a wide variety of packaging materials available. Selection of a
suitable package for your product is a combination of science, art, and legal
requirements. Some of the factors that need to be considered in selecting a suitable
package are:
1) Physical nature of the product. Liquid products need a very tight seal to prevent
leaks. Moist solids with water activity above 0.85 need to be sealed reasonably
tight to minimize drying of the product in storage. For dry solids the quality of the
seal may not be a critical matter.
2) The package needs to be convenient in size and easy for the customer to open
3) The cost of the package needs to be reasonable in relation to the cost of the product.
4) It is desirable for the outside of the package to accept attractive printing or tight
adherence of a label.
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5) Tamper-evident packages will help prevent contamination and deliberate, illegal
adulteration of your product after it leaves your custody.
6) Depending on the product, resistance of the package to the transmission of water
vapor, gases, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and light may be needed.
1) If the water activity of the product is less than 0.85, the food is classed as
a dry or intermediate moisture food. The potential for public health problems because
of microbial growth on these foods is small. The Code of Federal Regulations Part
110 “Current good manufacturing practices in manufacturing, processing, packaging
and holding human food” applies to these foods
2) If the water activity of a food is higher than 0.85, there is a greater
potential for public health problems and, therefore, there are more strict regulations
governing these foods. Foods with a water activity above 0.85 are further subdivided
into two groups depending on the pH.
A) Water activity greater than 0.85 and pH less than 4.6. This group of
foods is comprised of acid foods, acidified foods, and fermented foods. The Code of
Federal Regulation Part 110 cited above applies to these foods. For acidified foods the
Code of Federal Regulations Part 114 is also required.
B) Water activity greater than 0.85 and pH greater than 4.6. These are
classed as low acid canned foods and they require the most rigorous federal
regulations. The Code of Federal Regulations Part 108, 110, and 113 are applied to
this group of foods.
A process approved by a processing authority must be filed with FDA on each
low-acid and acidified food sold in the U.S.
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Cooling
If the product has been heated or filled hot, there will be heat damage to the
color and flavor after closing unless the product is cooled promptly. For glass and
metal containers it is desirable to cool in water until the temperature reaches about
100-110oF.
The water used to cool cans may be at any temperature. Glass containers are
likely to crack if the temperature of the cooling water is more than 60oF lower than the
temperature of the product inside the glass container. Therefore, with glass containers
it is customary to begin cooling in warm water and lower the temperature of the water
as cooling progresses.
When large quantities of warm food are stacked solid, it may take days for the
stack to cool to room temperature. During this period of time the product is likely to
become dark in color and burned in flavor. The trade calls this “stack burn.”
Therefore, large quantities of food should always be cooled before stacking. Small
quantities of food (such as several dozen jars of homemade preserves) can be cooled in
air because the amount is small. However, it is desirable to stack the containers in a
single layer with spaces to allow air to move between the containers and accelerate
cooling. A fan directed at the cooling material will speed up the cooling process.
Coding
A code should be placed on each container to identify the product, the batch
number and day on which it was manufactured. The reason for this is that, should
problems appear after the product left your control, the defective material can be
identified and recalled. This avoids recalling everything that has been manufactured
and is still on the shelves.
For low acid canned foods the law requires that each container have a code
attached to the container that identifies the establishments where it was packed, the
product, the year, day, and period it was packed. Records of the codes and tests done
to assure safety and quality must be kept for three years.
Storage
The finished product should be stored in a clean, dry location that is
conveniently located for loading into trucks that will start the product on its way to the
market. It is preferable not to stack cartons of finished products on the floor. They
should be stacked off the floor on pallets.
The storage areas should be kept clean and sanitary. It should be swept at
regular intervals. Litter and trash that can harbor rats and insects must not be allowed
to accumulate. Biodegradable waste material should not be stored in this area.
It is desirable to keep the temperature of the storage area cool because
prolonged high temperature can damage the quality of the product over a period of
time. It also is advisable to keep the humidity low because high humidity may cause
condensation which will rust cans and weaken paper and cardboard cartons so they
become moldy or break easily when handled.
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QUALITY CONTROL
Quality may be defined as the degree of excellence of the product. It consists
of two major elements:
1) Sensory quality, which might be considered the “visible” part of quality. This
includes the appearance of the food, its odor, taste and texture.
2) Safety, which is the “invisible” part of quality. This means that the food is not
harmful, adulterated, or in any way injurious to health.
A critical quality of a food is one which may constitute a health hazard to the
consumer. An example of such a quality would be the presence of harmful bacteria or
toxic substances. Tests to ensure that the product is safe and wholesome are defined as
critical control points.
The U.S. Government’s Centers for Disease Control keeps good records of
diseases caused by foods. Table 5-1 lists the factors that were responsible for
foodborne diseases in the United States over a 21-year period.
Contaminated ingredients/unsafe
food sources 11.2
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*Note: Percentages greater than 100 because some outbreaks associated with more
than one factor
The Centers for Disease Control found that 75% of foodborne disease
outbreaks were caused by bacteria, parasites or viruses. Although the highest
proportions of these outbreaks occurred in restaurants and other food service
establishments, too many of them occur in home and food processing plants. The high
incidence of bacteria-induced diseases underlines the need to always maintain good
sanitation in the processing area.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have a regulation known as “Current
Good Manufacturing Practice” which is usually abbreviated to GMP. This regulation
can be found in appendix 1. The umbrella GMP regulation (Section 21 of the Code of
Federal Regulations Paragraph 110) covers general regulations for all foods. In
addition there are some specialized GMP’s for specific food groups. The FDA
considers food to be adulterated if it has been prepared, packed, or held under
unsanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or
whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health.
SANITATION
There are two important reasons for establishing and maintaining a good
sanitation program in every food processing plant:
1) Economic: Poor sanitation often leads to spoilage of the food which renders it
unusable.
2) Legal: The Food and Drug Administration has the power to seize and destroy
products that have been manufactured or stored under unsanitary conditions. They
also have the power to criminally prosecute any individual or company that is
operating a food processing plant in an unsanitary manner. Sanitation standards
include physical, chemical, and microbiological cleanliness standards for the
manufacturing area, the buildings, equipment in the plant, personnel, water supply,
waste disposal, raw product quality and finished product. Constant supervision of all
aspects of the operation is needed to comply with these requirements.
Although it is not possible to cover all the sanitary standards here, the major
standards apply to the following:
1) People with communicable diseases cannot work in a food processing plant.
2) Employees should wash their hands before going to work and after every visit to the
bathroom.
3) Hair nets or caps must be worn.
4) All floors, walls, ceilings, and equipment must be maintained in a sanitary
condition.
5) Animals and vermin such as rodents must be excluded from the area.
6) All food contact surfaces should be inert, wear resistant, smooth and easily cleaned.
Cleaning
The processing area must be thoroughly cleaned at the end of each working
day. For many operations it is necessary to also clean periodically during the working
day. Floors need to be swept clean every day. In wet food processing operations such
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as fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, the floors may need to be hosed down and
scrubbed.
The food handling equipment must also be cleaned thoroughly every day. The
steps in cleaning are as follows:
1. Rinse with water. This usually removes a large part of the soil on the equipment.
2. Clean with a suitable detergent. Scrubbing or high pressure spraying may be
necessary to remove all visible food residues and any soil; A good detergent is needed
here.
3. The equipment then needs to be rinsed again with water to wash off the detergent
residue.
4. Equipment that handles moist foods is now required to be sanitized. The most
common sanitizer used is chlorine. The most readily accessible and easily used source
of chlorine is regular household bleach used at a suitable dilution.
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manufacturing the product. Listed below are some of the advantages and
disadvantages of using a copacker.
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3)Once you have established the product information, write preparation and process
instructions. Write specifications for ingredients, packaging materials, regulatory
compliance and finished product.
Contract;
It is suggested that you use a contract with a co-packer and have your attorney
view it. Listed below are some items that you may wish to cover in a contract;
1) Exactly what services are you contracting for?
2) What ingredients and supplies are you responsible for and what is the co-packer
responsible for? Who will provide product liability insurance?
3)What are the critical factors that must be met during production as stated in the
specifications?
4)Will the co-packer sign a non compete clause in the contract? Usually not, because
it would limit his production to only you.
5) What are the production run limitations (size, amount of lead-time required, etc.)?
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6)What are the payment terms? The usual terms are 10% down and the remainder
on delivery.
7) What finished product testing will be provided?
E) Crisis Management;
Introduction
Crises has become a reality in today’s world and the importance of early
planning has been shown with recent problems with hurricanes and other crisis’ that
are happening around the world. Crises also happen in food processing companies
ranging from microbiological food poisoning to product tampering. These crisis
situations lead to loses of markets, legal lawsuits and can virtually ruin a food
company. Even through food related crises cannot be prevented, they can be
MANAGED. A “Crisis” can be defined as those unexpected events, whether of
human or a natural catastrophe, that can cause a food plant to close or otherwise
interfere with the normal course of business, or that can cause the public to lose its
trust in an entire company. This section is designed to help food processing companies
develop and implement a Crisis Management Plan that addresses all possible crises
that can arise. The suggestions contained herein are very general. Each food
processing company should design a crisis management plan that addresses its
particular products and overall organization.
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If you don’t think crises happen in the food processing industry, think again.
The news is constantly filled with food related crises and there effects can be very bad.
Several years ago, some glass particles were found in some glass jars of baby food.
When one considers the number of jars of baby food produced daily, a few glass
particles in the actual food will eventually happen. But the media is unforgiving and
can portray the incident as inhumane – glass in baby food can kill babies- how
horrible. There are constantly food recalls on the news about meat contaminated with
pathogens such as E Coli 0157:H7 and Listeria Monocytogenes. Most of these end up
as mere recalls but there have been times when food processing companies such as
Jack in the Box and Sara Lee processed meats resulted in people dying from these
pathogens. People also sue companies for things other than pathogens. Think about the
“hot coffee in the lap” lawsuit and the more recent lawsuits alleging that fast food
restaurants caused obesity in adolescents who ate there. The point of mentioning these
sad events is that crisis are inevitable but the effects can be minimized if food
processing companies have a crisis management plan that anticipates the problems and
has a plan of action when things go bad. Although none of these crises were
intentional and usually not even known to the parent food company when it happened,
they still can have deleterious effects on the future of the business. By anticipating and
detailed planning for a crisis before it happens can drastically minimize its’ ultimate
effects on the company. “Failing to plan is like planning to fail”. “The best defense is a
strong offense”
Situation
Suppose you are the President of XYZ Food Company and you are walking to
your car at the end of the day. A news reporter comes up to you and says “Several
people in Wayne AR have just become seriously ill and have implicated your food
product. Would you care to comment?” How would you respond?
You have several options.
A) Tell the reporter “Sounds like a personal problem to me”.
B) Tell him you don’t have time to talk to him now because you are tired.
C) Tell him “No comment”
D) Tell him you are sorry about the whole incident and you will launch a full
investigation.
E) Tell him that you think the liberal media probably staged the whole thing to get a
good story.
The correct answer is D. Answer C is the second best answer but most people
think you are covering up something if you say “No comment”. After any major
problem, all the public expects to hear is concern for the victims and that the company
is doing something (investigating, making restitution, cleaning up the mess etc).
The point of this story is that by preparing for a wide range of crises, a
company will know how to respond to it. The President of XYZ Foods may not have
been aware of the crisis but he had been trained to know what people expect. It has
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been repeatedly shown that all the general public expects for the first few days after a
crisis is concern for the victims and to state that some action will be taken.
Crisis Management
This section will help you get started into crisis management training and
through a crisis management unit, anticipate and plan details on how to respond to any
possible situation that arises. Although every crisis will be disruptive and
unpredictable in various aspects and degrees, it is possible to anticipate many of the
decisions that will have to be made during a corporate crisis. By outlining in advance
the precise steps that corporate management and other personnel are to address in
identified crisis situations (who is to do what and how they are to do it) the ability of a
company to respond efficiently and effectively is greatly enhanced. Data suggests that
the more potential crises an organization can think of beforehand and prepare for
(whether it can completely prevent them or not), the more quickly and successfully it
will recover from any crisis that happens. Many potential crises can be prepared for in
advance since many crises send out a repeated and persistent trail of early warning
signals. If one can identify the potential problems and plan for them, the probability of
a successful recovery will be greater.
Step #1; Form a Crisis Management Unit. This is referred to as the CMU (Crisis
Management Unit). This unit is composed of key management personnel who direct a
crisis. The CMU is a group of managers that serve to direct a crisis into a more
favorable situation or minimize its deleterious effects. The group is made up of
members from various departments who can rapidly respond to a situation,
communicate with individuals, internal and external to the company, be responsible for
determining the details of a crisis, identifying needs and ultimately controlling the
situation. The president or plant manager will ultimately have to appoint a CMU
committee since every plant and peoples personality vary greatly. Listed in table 5-2
are some suggested people to have on the CMU.
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Table 5-2; The CMU Team
Title Responsibility
Plant Manager or VP Operations Director of the CMU
HR Manager Spokesperson
CMU RESPONSIBILITIES
Each team must have a director and alternate director. Each team needs to have
a spokes-person for communicating with TV, radio and the press. This person has to
determine when and the amount of media coverage and when and how to keep the
employees informed of a crisis. No other person at the plant or any member of the
CMU should ever discuss any matters with members of the media no matter what
happens. This can be real important. The technical person and QA Manager may be
one in the same. They are on the team for purposes of advising in technical matters,
recalls, laboratory analysis and other food safety issues. Maintenance and shipping
supervisors are on the team to handle matters concerning their respective department’s
area of expertise.
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CRISIS EVENTS
No matter what the crisis, there are a series of characteristics/events that take
place. The CMU must realize these characteristics exist and control the situation. The
characteristics and events involved in a crisis are presented in Table 5-3.
5) Intense scrutiny from outside. Work through the media to keep a good
company image.
6) Siege mentality
7) Panic
The previous 8 steps will happen no matter what the crisis and will proceed in
that order unless the CMU can stop it at any of the 8 steps. All 8 of these steps usually
happen in the first 3-5 days of a crisis.
Step #2; Make a list of all possible crisis one can think of:
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coverage. They are also characterized as ones where the product has physically left
the production facility.
Local Corporate
Ammonia leaks Adulteration/ Tampering
Bomb threats Food Poisoning
Fires Bioterrorism
Explosions Recalls
Power Outages
Tornadoes
Step #3; Write out an action plan for each possible crisis.
This may seem overly simple as you do it but it is real important to detail it
while you are calm and thinking. When a real crisis comes along, you will probably be
surprised, in shock and extremely distracted so your thinking will be powered by
emotion rather than logic. I suggest that you have some fun with this one. Take one
possible crisis at a time and think of every possible way to handle it using
brainstorming and creativity techniques. Remember that it is always better to be
“proactive” to a crisis where the CMU has thought it through rather than being
“reactive” where you are acting out of emotion. In planning for a crisis, attention to
detail is the central theme. “The success to which one achieves in direct proportion to
their dedication to excellence”. You must be dedicated to the excellence of planning
for the Crisis. We will now go through each of the general crises with some thoughts
on them. The following are not action plans by a few comments about the crisis that
should be considered as the CMU writes the action plan. It is up to the CMU to write
out a detailed action plan on each of these that can be distributed throughout the
company.
Ammonia Leaks
When an ammonia leak is detected by sensors or smell, the HAZMAT team
and First Responders should be summoned. All other employees should be evacuated
from the area. After the HAZMAT team has collected information as to where the leak
is and the how it happened, the CMU can be briefed on the situation and decide what
steps to take.
Bomb Threats
All bomb threats should initially be treated as if they were real, although most
turn out to be a hoax. Most bomb threats are made via the telephone. Therefore,
switchboard operators must be trained on how to respond. It may be good to have
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some simulated bomb threat calls with switch board operators so that when a real call
comes in, their reaction will be one of careful thought versus panic.
The person receiving a bomb threat should;
1) Remain calm and advise the caller that many innocent people might be hurt.
2) Keep the caller on the line as long as possible and attempt to get such information as
time remaining until detonation and location and type of device. If at all possible, the
operator should try to get someone to call the police while the caller is on the line.
3) Take careful notes of EVERYTHING that the caller tells the switchboard operator.
Also try to collect any additional information you can such as background sounds. Is
the call from the outside or inside the plant?. Is it an operator assisted call? Is the
caller a male or female?; Any particular speech or words that sound unusual?
4) Ask “Who is calling?” several times. You might catch the caller off-guard.
5) As soon as the caller terminates the conversation, the operator should
IMMEDIATELY notify the plant manager or senior member of management on
duty. It is up to the plant manager to evaluate the threat and determine the
appropriate action to be taken.
Power Outages.
The loss of electrical power is not a major problem for most plants unless it is
for an extended period of time. It could be assumed that this problem may occur in
conjunction with other emergency type situations. This would mean that those
situations would then become more difficult to handle. The loss of electrical power
causes;
1) A loss of regular lighting
2) A loss of regular phone service
3) A loss of refrigeration
The CMU should anticipate what precautions should be taken to;
1) How to evacuate people in remote areas of the plant.
2) Where to go for refrigeration.
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Tornadoes
Most tornadoes occur in the Midwest and south central states between March
and September. Tornadoes are usually preceded by thunderstorms and clouds that have
a greenish-black color. Plants should have a designated person to monitor the radio
when conditions are right for a tornado. There are two types of tornado alerts. A
“Tornado Watch” means that conditions are right for a tornado but none have yet been
spotted.
A “Tornado Warning” means that someone has actually confirmed the presence of a
tornado. This is where management must be readily available to decide if and when
emergency plans begin. Prior planning by the CMU should decide where employees
are to go when a tornado is heading for the plant. A simple plant map similar to the
one used for evacuation routes should be developed to show employees where to seek
shelter. Your local police or fire departments can help you determine the safest places
to seek shelter in your facility (e.g. along north walls; away from windows etc). Do not
allow employees to leave the facility if a tornado is approaching. Flying debris in a
tornado can injure people.
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6) Refine initial action plan and initiate;
*Keep daily log of occurrences
*Send samples to laboratories if needed.
*Decide if a recall is needed, to what extent and who will facilitate the recall.
7) Continue meeting of CMU until crisis is over.
*Marketing/ sales should be gathering statistics as to how the crisis hurt the company
and develop a plan to counter negative publicity.
*No CMU member should talk to anyone outside the CMU except the
spokesperson.
*Continue to work with investigative agencies (FSIS, FDA, FBI) if needed,
Food Poisoning;
False claims are made all the time by consumers who ate your product and got
sick. Some are just looking for free coupons or some type of monetary compensation.
Some claims may be very real and it is best to respond quickly and proactively before
it gets blown out of proportion.
One final word on food poisoning cases. Each plant and company must
determine how they will handle reported food poisoning cases. If the CMU response to
a food poisoning case is too slow and if the problem is real, many people may become
sick before you initiate a recall. However, if you initiate a recall when no real problem
exists, you risk possible negative publicity when it wasn’t warranted.
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Bioterrorism
We have all heard of the threat that bioterrorists could possibly get into the
United State’s food supply channel although no specific attacks have actually taken
place. Terrorists could conceivably poison the incoming raw materials in our food
plants, poison the finished product in the plant or poison it while on the retail shelves
which would fall under the topic of tampering/adulteration.
The FDA has recently published guidelines for bioterrorism in our food supply
and can be found on the following websites;
*Food Producers, Processors and Transporters; Food Security Preventive Measures
Guidance- can be found at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms.secguid6.html.
*Retail Food Store and Food Service Establishments; Food Security Preventative
Guidance-can be found at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/secguid5.html.
Every food processing plant should get these publications, study them and
develop an action plan for food security. These guidelines should also be reviewed by
the CMU and action plans developed to counteract the effects if something were to
happen. After reviewing these guidelines, the CMU may possibly alter the way they
approach crisis management.
STEP #4; Develop and Distribute a Crisis Management Booklet to all Responsible
Parties;
The crisis management booklet should include the CMU members and their
responsibilities, action plans for various crisis situations from local crisis to recalls
with appendices as templates for every conceivable crisis and every possible telephone
number needed. Get this booklet into the hands of every person in the plant who could
use it. The appendices are good places to have a number of things so they are all in one
place and easily obtained. These include detailed templates for every possible crisis
that could happen along with telephone numbers. When you are in the mist of a crisis,
you don’t want to be going through your file cabinet looking for some document or
fumbling around looking for a telephone number. It is a good idea to have several
pages of relevant telephone numbers in the appendix. Some necessary numbers include
CMU work and home numbers, FDA, USDA, FBI, fire department, police department,
local emergency preparedness group, hospital, ambulance service, a local chemical
spill organization, natural gas company, water company, etc. Your CMU committee
can brainstorm other organizations that needed to be included.
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6. Food Processing and Equipment
A) Introduction;
B) Food Processing
C) Food Processing Equipment
D) Finding Food Equipment
A) Introduction;
The advent of the industrial revolution certainly changed many manufacturing
industries but the food processing industry changed dramatically following WWII.
WWII changed the food processing industry primarily by a better understanding on
metal alloys and how to use them and the infusion of refrigerators into mainstream
America. In addition, during the early 1900s, 80-90% of Americans lived in rural areas
and derived a majority of their food supply from home gardens selling their excess to
people living in the cities. Since the early 1900s, there has been a mass exodus from
rural areas to cities. Less than 1% of America’s population now produce food for the
remaining 99% of the population. In order for this the happen, the shelf life of foods
had to be increased to accommodate the time from harvest to production and
distribution. The technology of food processing has grown out of this need to extend
the shelf life of foods. The number one reason for food processing has been to reduce
spoilage however, along with this these changes has come improved nutrition and
better eating quality of foods. In the 1950s and 1960s, labor was relative inexpensive
and processing equipment was expensive. Since that time, labor has become expensive
and food processing equipment has become relatively inexpensive. Food processing
equipment has become highly automated and mainly used to reduce labor costs. If you
have a home garden you realize that you cannot produce and process your garden
produce at nearly the cost of what you can buy it in a store. Whether you grow your
own chickens for egg production, raise, feed and slaughter your own cattle for meat,
you cannot begin to even compete with what you can buy the finished products in a
store. Food in America is a real value mainly due to the automation and processing
that has taken place in the last 50 years. In this chapter we will discuss food processing
in general and some of the equipment needed to process food.
B) Food Processing
Food processing begins with raw products as listed in table 6.1. In this table,
we have organized foods into one of twelve agricultural commodities. We have then
listed some of the raw materials that make up each category and then listed some of
the finished products that are made from the raw products. Go to a food store some
time and notice how small the raw produce area is compared to the rows of finished,
value-added products. At first you might think of the raw produce as being
unprocessed but there is food processing used in these products. First of all, the
varieties of produce bought in stores may be different that the varieties you plant in
your home garden. In the case of tomatoes, certain varieties have been developed that
have a thicker, tougher skin in order to withstand the rigors of transportation. Second
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is the fact that most raw produces are transported to stores in modified gas
atmospheres. Some raw food products will only last 2 to 3 days if picked at the ripened
stage. With the use of modified gas atmospheres, raw produce can be picked just
before ripening and allowed to ripen on the way to the store. Although one might
argue that fresh, garden produce tastes better than artificially ripen produce, one
cannot deny that having fresh produce available year round has to be more nutritious
than eating only produce that is “in season”. As you shop the fresh produce area,
notice on the label where that produce comes from. Some stores sell locally produced
produce during the summer but in December, may have asparagus from Argentina,
strawberries from Brazil etc. All of this has come about due to our understanding of
the ripening process and how to control it. It has resulted in better year round selection
of food and virtually eliminated most of the nutritional diseased that occurred in the
past.
Table 6.1; Raw and Finished Food Products.
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As an entrepreneur or small food processor, you need to continually look at
newer faster equipment to be competitive. To stay in business, you always have to find
a way to make food products, cheaper, better and differently than the competition. This
competitive attitude has driven food processors to produce some of the best food in the
world at a cheaper price than people can do it themselves. In order to understand or
improve your processing line, the first step is to draw a flow chart like the one in Table
6.2. In this flow chart, we have drawn the process flow in the left column along with a
written narrative of the procedure in the middle column. We them add a comment to
the right column as to whether it can be automated or not.
Inspection
Slaughter
Hide Removal
Evisceration
Carcass Splitting
Carcass washing
Inspection
Chilling
Carcass Fabrication
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Sorting
Particle Reduction
Mixing/ Blending
Stuffing
Casing Removal
Packaging
Cartonizting
Distribution
Retailing
This flow chart is very specific to a single product. You cannot make grape
jelly following this frankfurter flow chart however the beginning and the end of flow
charts tend to be similar. Every flow chart should start with your raw material. If you
are fully integrated (meaning you grow your own raw material and, process it and take
it all the way to the store), you probably grow varieties of produce that give you the
exact starting material you want. If you are just processing food, your purchase
specification should be written to buy a certain type of produce. This can be based on
size, color, grade etc. Once you have your starting material, you should perform some
sort of raw material inspection to sort out the raw products that are spoiled or
blemished beyond what can be used as starting materials.
The end of the flow chart is usually quite similar across food products. This is
usually some sort of packaging, cartonizing (where retail units are placed in a master
box) followed by distribution and retailing.
After you have developed a flow chart for your production line, it is now time
to find those procedures that can be automated. You can use the far right column for
the flow chart like that in Table 6.2 to determine the number of people required to
perform the procedure. You should also calculate the capacity needed. Your capacity
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should be based on the amount of finished product you expect to sell over a given
period of time. This step can be fairly difficult if you are not experienced at it but you
will get better at it as you experience it. If you expect to sell 1,000 lbs of product per
week, your total capacity to produce or manufacture should equal 1,000 lbs per week.
You need to figure the number of people it takes to perform each step in the flow chart
to produce that required amount of finished product. Then figure out if a piece of
equipment will save you by not having to have as many people. When buying food
processing equipment, you should also plan for more capacity that you are currently
selling thus allowing for expansion. Some food processing equipment must be
purchased to perform a procedure and is not based on automation. For example, if you
are making low acid canned vegetables, you will need a retort (large pressure cooker).
You cannot do this with labor savings in mind because no amount of labor can
pressure cook a food product but the type of retort should be considered since some
retorts are continuous while others are batch type.
As long as you are in the food processing business, you must be vigilant to
changes in technology. What is breakthrough technology today can become obsolete
within several years. The technology is constantly changing in many areas. For
example, new methods of cooking are being developed such as radio-frequency
cooking and induction cooking will replace older methods in several years. This can be
viewed as a competitive strategy for small businesses because the big food processors
of today will rarely have the money to totally update their system periodically whereas
smaller businesses can afford to upgrade and modernize more frequently.
Correspondingly, the big food processors of today may succumb to the smaller
processor.
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As a food processor, you need to determine whether you should buy new, used
or reburbished food processing equipment. Food processing equipment can be
categorized as listed in table 6.3.
Cleaners
Washers
Peelers
Separators
Particles Reduction Equipment
Dicers
Grinders
Choppers
Mixing
Blenders
Mixers
Stirrers
Formers
Scales
Metal detectors.
Boilers
Cooking
Steam jacketed kettles, Blentech
Retorts all types from BPCS
Heat exchanges
Smokehouses
Ovens
Conveyers
Fillers
Stuffers
Fillers
Cappers
Labelers
Packaging
Canning equipment
Bags
Boxes
Overwrap trays
Form fill and seal
Vacuum
Films
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D) Finding Food Equipment;
The job of finding food-processing equipment can be complex by the internet
has certainly made it easier. If you are an entrepreneur or small food processor, it may
be worthwhile to check into using used food processing equipment. Most small scale
food processing equipment is fairly expensive because hunters and small processors
are always wanting this small equipment and the law of supply and demand certainly
rules this market. Larger scale, used equipment may be a better value since it is larger
and not many people are interested in a piece of equipment with a large “footprint”.
The best place to start looking for food-processing equipment is to do a Google search
with the key word “Food Processing Equipment”. Listed below are some websites that
may make the search for food-processing equipment less stressful.
http://yellowpages.superpages.com/categorybrowser.jsp?catID=7561.
http://foodmaster.com.
http://foodonline.com.
http://foodprocessing.com.
http://www.fpsa.org
http://packnet.com.
http://buyersguide.ift.org/cms.
http://www.MEATPOULTRY.com.
http://www.thomasregister.com.
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7. Food Product Labeling, Additives and Ingredients
and Packaging
A) Introduction
B) The Basics of Food Labeling
C) Nutritional Labeling
D) Other Label Components
E) Food Ingredients, Additives and GRAS;
F) Food Packaging;
G) Label Design and Packaging;
A) Introduction;
Food packaging is primarily a method for protecting food during distribution
and adding substantially to the shelflife. It also is used to promote the product in a
positive light to the consumer. The label of food products must conform to government
regulations. This chapter discusses the important aspects of the food labeling,
packaging and also discusses some of the important ingredients used in foods.
Introduction
A FOOD LABEL has 2 important functions. It tells the customer about the product in
a positive manner and it must comply with federal or state regulations to add
uniformity to food labeling and prevent consumer deception.
Display Panels
Food packaging has three types of display panels as defined by the regulations;
1)The Principle Display Panel (PDP) is the package panel that faces the purchaser and
communicates what is in the box, can or jar.
2) The Alternative Principle Panel is the same as the PDP but allows more than one
way to position the package on the shelf.
3) The Information Panel is directly to the right of the PDP or on the back of the
package.
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Table 7-1; Display Panels on a Food Package
Information Location
Identity of Contents •PDP
Figure 7-1 shows the location of the principle display panel and the
information panels on a fictitious food product. Note that the principle display panel is
the one that faces the customer when displayed and the information panel is
immediately to the right of the principle display panel or on the back of the package.
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The two required components that must be on the principle display panel include the
identity of contents and the net weight statement (See Figure 7-2)
The three essential components of the information panel include the ingredient
statement, the name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor and the
nutritional label. The information panel can be immediately to the right of the principle
display panel or on the back of the package. Figure 7-3 shows the layout of the
components of the information panel.
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We will now go into more detail on the required components of a food label.
Qualifying Statement
Some food products, mainly USDA inspected products, may contain a
“Qualifying Statement” immediately below the name of the product to explain how the
product differs from the standard of identity. For Example; Smoked Sausage; Made
with Turkey. In this case, the product name is “Smoked Sausage” but smoked sausage
is traditionally made with beef and pork, so a qualifying statement is added (Made
with Turkey).
.
Quantity or Contents Statement
This is an accurate statement of how much is inside the package or container.
This declaration must appear in the lower one-third of the principle display panel. It is
generally stated as “Net Contents” or “Net Weight”. The weights should be in the
traditional manner (e.g. lbs, oz, etc.) followed by the metric unit (grams, liters,
kilograms). For example” Net Wt 1 lb (454 g)”.
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List of Ingredients
The list of ingredients in the product appears in descending order of
predominance by weight. The ingredient statement may be on either the principle
display panel or an information panel. Foods using other standardized foods such as
ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc. as an ingredient must disclose the contents of the
standardized food in the ingredient statement within parentheses. For example
BARBECUE SAUCE
Ingredients; water, tomatoes, ketchup (tomato concentrate, high fructose corn syrup,
distilled vinegar, garlic powder), salt, sugar. Note that the ingredients that make up
ketchup are in parentheses.
Ingredient Declarations
There are many regulations governing how and what is declared in the ingredient list
that is beyond the scope of this guide. It is best to review the regulations for each
ingredient used in your product. Some General Ingredient Declaration Rules include
the following;
1) With the exception of onions, garlic and celery, the term “spices” can be used in the
ingredient statement without listing all the spices used.
2) Flavorings and colorings should distinguish between those which are natural versus
artificial.
3) Certified colors and protein hydrolysates must be declared by their common or
usual name.
4) Food characterized by a particular flavor may require a qualifying name along with
the product name ( i.e. “Artificially Flavored”).
5) When chemical preservatives are used, a declaration of the chemical by its common
or usual name and its function can be required. Typical functional qualifications
include “preservative”, “to retard spoilage”, “a mold inhibitor”, “to help protect
flavor”, and “to promote color retention”.
Allergen Warning
As of January 2006, an allergen warning must be under the ingredient
statement to warn people with allergens that the product may contain one of the 9
potential allergens. The 9 major allergens are soy, milk, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts,
eggs, fish, crustaceans and mollusks. If a food has any of these ingredients even in
minute quantities, the word “Contains” must be at the end of the ingredient statement
with the names of the allergens present in the food.
C) Nutritional Labeling;
The Nutritional Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 provided for a mandate
for the food industry to provide food nutrient data on food packages. Detailed
information on the NLEA regulations can be found in ”A Food Labeling Guide” at the
following URL; http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/flg-toc.html.
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A nutritional label is provided to give consumers information they need to make food
purchasing decisions for health reasons. Figure 7-4 shows a typical nutritional label.
Number of Servings per container- This is the net weight divided by the serving size. It
tells the consumer the number of serving in the container if used at the reference
amount.
Required nutrients- There are fourteen (15) nutrients or nutrient facts that must be
specified on nutritional labels. They include calories, calories from fat, total fat,
saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, dietary fiber, total carbohydrates, sugar,
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protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. Consult the regulations as to which
ones you need for your specific product.
b) Statement of “Imitation”
If the product is an imitation of the real thing, it must be stated on the label. An
example would be cottage cheese-like food made from soybeans or other imitation
dairy products where milk is absent or is used only as a minor ingredient.
c) Sulfites
Sulfides used in foods and beverages such as wines, if permitted to contain sulfites,
must declare the presence of this additive if the level is greater than 10ppm. The
declaration must be on the principle display panel “Contains sulfites”.
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d) Percentage Juice
Any fruit or vegetable beverage or one purporting to be a fruit or vegetable beverage
must declare the percentage juice content on the information panel or principle display
panel. Examples are;
“Contains 10% Apple Juice”
“Contains no Apple Juice”
Figure 7-6; A symbol representing both an inspection logo and a grade identity.
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f) UPC Code
UPC stands for Universal Product Code. It is a bar code that distinguishes one
product from another. The UPC code consists of 10 digits and vertical lines. The first
five digits name the manufacturer and the last five digits name the product (peas,
ketchup, etc.). It is not a government requirement to have a UPC code, but most
retailers demand them for use in pricing a product and for inventory control purposes.
g) Generic Foods
Foods without fancy labels (no pictures, no recipes and usually black lettering
on a white background) are termed “generic foods”. As a general rule, these products
are overruns and are a way for the manufacturer to turn overstock merchandise into
cash. Sometimes as much as 50% savings can be realized by purchasing these products
since they have no “marketing” funds involved.
h) Irradiated Foods
Food products that are irradiated, must bear the irradiation logo and the term
“Treated with Radiation” or similar statement. Foods are irradiated to improve shelf-
life. Irradiation controls sprouting in potatoes as well as microorganisms, particularly
pathogens. Spices that are irradiated do not have to bear the label. Most spices are
either irradiated or treated with ethylene dioxide to reduce the bacterial load.
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Figure 7-7; An Irradiation Log
j) Health Claims
Health claims can sometimes be very desirable on a label. Foods having a
scientifically proven and regulatory approved relationship to cancer, heart disease,
hypertension or other health condition can be labeled as such. Most people have
opinions about how foods can benefit them however, nutritional claims must be
substantiated on hard scientific facts.
k) Code Dates
These are codes used on perishable foods that explain their shelf-life.
PACK DATE- Date the product was packaged
SELL BY DATE- Last day the product should be sold
USE BY DATE- Last day the product is expected to maintain top quality
EXPIRATION DATE- Last day the product should be consumed
Product codes can be very useful to food manufacturers if a recall is necessary.
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E) Food Ingredients/ Additives and GRAS
Food Additives
This section will take you through the history, definition, legal/regulatory,
categories and some specific food additives. Understand that this is a very broad topic
yet a very important aspect of the overall food industry.
History
The use of salt peter in meat by the ancient Egyptians was probably the first
recorded account of using food ingredients. Much world history and early exploration
were an indirect result of man’s quest for spices and other flavorings. (e.g Marco
Polo’s travels to the Orient for spices; Christopher Columbus’s voyage to find a
shorter route to the Far East for spices).
General Definitions
A FOOD ADDITIVE is defined as “a substance or mixture of substances, other
than the basic foodstuff, which is present in a food as a result of any aspect of
production, processing, storage or packaging”. They are also defined as “Substances
added to foods in smaller quantities for a specific purpose, those purposes being color,
preservation, nutrition, texture, flavor or cost reduction ”.
FDA Definition
The FDA uses the term “food additive” to mean any substance, the intended use of
which results or may reasonably be expected to result, directly or indirectly, in its
becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food
(including any substances intended for use in producing, manufacturing, packaging,
processing, preparing, treating, transporting or holding food ), if such substance is
generally recognized among experts qualified by scientific training and experience to
evaluate its safety as having been adequately shown through scientific procedures to
be safe under the conditions of its intended use.
Intentional Additives- Those which are added to perform a specific function. They are
measured and added in exact amounts.
Incidental Additives-Substances present in foods in trace quantities as a result of some
phase of production, processing, storage or packaging. These are unavoidable from the
practical viewpoint.
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Labeling
All food additives must be on the ingredient statement on the package label as
required by law. All food ingredients must be listed in decreasing order of amount or
can be just listed on the label if less than 2% of the total formula. Food ingredients
must be approved for use as either listed as GRAS (Generally Recognized (or
Regarded) As Safe) substances, prior sanctioned or be petitioned as a food additive.
Natural
Most food ingredients are “natural”. They may be derived from plants or animals but
are sometimes extracted and/or purified by artificial means. For example, Gelatin is
derived from the hair follicles of hog skins and beef hides. Nitrites used to cure
sausage are also natural occurring in water, celery and beer.
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Phosphates
StarterCultures
Fats& Oils
Cost Reduction /Binders
Spices- natural and man-made.
a) Preservatives-Antimicrobial
Those which act to control or prevent growth of bacteria, yeasts and molds. .Examples
are sorbates, parabens, benzoates, propionates, sulfur dioxide and lactate. Some food
additives listed in other categories also act as antimicrobial agents such as salt, sugar,
acids etc.
Calcium Proprionate-mold inhibitor in bread.
Potassium Sorbate-Mold inhibitor in cheeses, syrups, jams, mayonnaise and pickles.
Sodium Benzoate-mold inhibitor in high acid foods, fruit drinks and carbonated
beverages.
Sodium Lactate –used in meat to control some pathogenic bacteria
Sodium Nitrite-used in cured meat to control botulism, add the characteristic pink,
cured color and contributes to flavor.
c) Flavoring Agents
Sugar and salt are the most widely used additives. Sugar not only contributes to
sweetness but also adds body to beverages, tenderness to baked goods and color when
caramelized. Salt and sugar may also be used as preservatives at high concentrations.
Honey (fructose) does not spoil at room temperatures because the sugar is at such a
high level that it binds all the moisture making it unavailable for bacteria. Salt can
come in many forms such as table salt (Sodium Chloride) or lite salt (Potassium
Chloride). Sugars or sweetners can include sucrose (table sugar), fructose, dextrose,
corn syrup and corn syrup solids, brown sugar, maple syrup. Non-nutritive sweetners
such as saccharin and aspartame are used to impart a sweet flavor but not the caloric
content of sucrose. Also, some polyhedric alcohols such as sorbitol and mannitol add a
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sweet sensation to the taste buds. MSG or monosodium glutamate combines with a
protein to enhance the flavor of high protein foods but does not have a flavor of its
own. “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome “ is one problem with MSG where persons
susceptible to MSG become “gitty” after being exposed to it. Nucleotides such as
disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate are flavor potentiators meaning they
enhance the basic flavor already present in the food..
Polyhydric Alcohols are sweetners that perform other functions such as 1)Control
Viscosity and bodyin soft drinks (glycerol), 2)Crystalline retardation incandy
(propylene glycol), 3) Preservative in soft drinks (glycerol), 4) Sweetner in diet gums
and candies (sorbitol) , and 5)Dusting Agent in marshmallows (mannitol).
d) Coloring Agents
Coloring Agents come in synthetic and natural. Examples of approved synthetic colors
include FD&C yellow #5, #6 and FD&C red #4. Some examples of natural coloring
are;
e) Acidulants
Acidulants are acids used for purposes of flavor (soft drinks), buffers, preservatives
(work by lowering the pH) and work synergistically with antioxidants. Examples of
acidulants include acetic acid, sorbic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, malic acid, citric
acid, phosphoric acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid and fumeric acid.
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Stabilizers & Thickeners include gelling agent used in puddings, thickening agent used
in jams and pie fillings, whipping agent used in toppings and icings, coating agents
used in confectionary, emulsifying agent used in salad dressing and foam agents used
in whipped toppings.
h) Nutritional Supplements
Historically such nutritional diseases such as goiter, pellagra, rickets, and scurvy were
not usual. It is now rare to encounter these problems due to foods being imported,
being fortified or other means have been found to reduce the incidence of nutritional
diseases. Salt is now iodized to prevent goiter. Breads are fortified with B-vitamins to
prevent pellagra. Milk is fortified with vitamin D to prevent rickets and fresh juices are
more economical and served year round as a source of vitamin C to prevent scurvy.
i) Firming Agents
Firming agents are used to improve the texture of processed fruits and vegetables.
Calcium chloride, calcium lactate and aluminum sulfate (alum) are used to improve the
texture of pickles, maraschino cherries and canned peas, tomatoes, potatoes and
apples.
j) Anti-Caking Agents
Anti-caking agents are important in the salt industry where sodium silico aluminate is
used to prevent particle clumping. Calcium phosphate performs the same function in
“Tang”-type drinks. Corn starch has been added to powdered sugar to keep it free-
flowing. Calcium stearate in garlic salt is another example of the use of an anti-caking
agent.
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k) Leavening Agents
A leavening agent is any chemical or biological substance that can produce bubbles or
gas (usually CO2) in dough. These gas bubbles expand, causing the dough to rise, thus
yielding foods which are light in texture. Yeast is sometimes used but is not a reliable
source of CO2 gas. Baking powders have replaced yeast as the preferred leavening
agent. These powders are generally composed of sodium bicarbonate, an acid salt such
as calcium monophosphate and starch. The phosphate and the bicarbonate readily react
in the presence of water to produce carbon dioxide gas. The starch helps keep these
ingredients dry and non-reactive so that a given volume of baking powder will create a
given amount of gas.
m) Humectants
These are substances such as propylene glycol, sorbitol, glycerine and mannitol which
are added to foods to help keep them moist. Propylene glycol is added to shredded
coconut and marshmallows, dried garlic and garlic flavored croutons to perform this
function. Sorbitol helps maintain the smooth consistency of candies and fudges.
o) Phosphates
Phosphates are normally used to hold moisture, decrease the pH and subsequently
assist antioxidants retard fat rancidity. The most common phosphates include sodium
tripolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, disodium phosphate and monosodium
phosphate.
p) Starter Cultures
Starter cultures are live bacteria that are non-pathogenic and perform functions such as
flavor development and protein texturization. Typical bacteria used include
Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Micrococcus, and Pediococcus. Starter cultures are used
in beer for fermentation, in pepperoni and other sausages for flavor development and
preservation and in yogurt and cheeses for texture and flavor development.
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q) Fats and Oils
Various types of fats and oils are used in a wide variety of products for purposes of
flavor, texture and as a cooking media. Fats are generally from animal sources which
are hard at room temperature and more saturated (more hydrogens along the carbon
backbone) than oils which are from plant sources and are liquid at room temperature
and are more unsaturated. Fats are generally derived from beef (tallow) and pork fat
(lard). Oils are generally derived from soybeans, peanuts, cottonseed, corn, olive,
safflower, sunflower, palm and coconut. They can be added as mono, di or
triglycerides to foods. The word “hydrogenated” means that oils are treated to add
more hydrogens to the carbon backbone of unsaturated fatty acids to make them solid.
r) Cost Reduction/Binders
These are generally proteins or starches added to foods for purposes of texturizers and
thickeners but mostly for purposes of cost reduction. They can be made from plant,
animal or fermentation derived origins.
Plant Derived Proteins are usually made from soybeans. They can be purchased as
“textured ”to resemble meat particles such as textured soy protein. They are
categorized based on protein content. Flours are free flowing and generally 50% or
less protein. Conncentrates are usually about 70% protein and are usually purchased as
texturized soy protein. Isolates are usually 90% or more in protein.
Fermentation Derived Proteins are proteins that are made from yeasts. Examples
include torula yeast and autolyzed yeast extract. Autolyzed yeast extract is single cell
yeast grown in lignin, molasses or sawdust.
Cereal Grain Derived are proteins from cereal grains such as oats, wheat, barley, corn,
rye and potatoes and is often referred to as gluten. Some products used for cost
reduction purposes use the starch component of these products.
s) Spices
Spices can be truly natural, extracts of spices or artificial. Natural spices are made
from ground, cracked or rubbed roots, leaves or seeds of plant origin. They have a long
lasting flavor but often contain large numbers of bacteria and give the resulting food
product a poor color. They are also hard to use in this form since the concentration of
the flavor component varies by region of the world. Flavor extracts are derived from
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the solvent or steam distillation procedure used to remove the spice flavor components
in concentrated form. Essential oils are another product of steam distillation of a
natural spice.
The advantages of extracts and essential oils are that they are very low in bacteria
counts, do not present the color problems of natural spices and the concentration of
active ingredients is very controlled. The disadvantage of extracts and essential oils is
that the flavor components are in a more volatile state and can dissipate faster than
natural spices.
Artificial flavoring also known as hydrolyzed vegetable proteins or HVPs are the
result of cleaving protein peptides from long vegetable proteins such as soy protein
that give a particular flavor note. This technology is used can give a wide range of
flavors such as shrimp, chicken, beef and the list goes on. This is an active flavor
component in Ramen-type noodles.
There are several large spice suppliers that can assist in duplicating a flavor match to
any product you have. They have highly trained people who can taste a food and tell
what spices are in it and how much. On ingredient labels, the exact spices used do not
have to be labeled. This is considered proprietary information. The spices used can be
listed as just “Spice” or “Spice Extractives”.
A list of approved food additives and substances generally recognized as safe (GRAS)
can be found at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_o2/21cfrv3_02.html
F) Food Packaging;
This section is a brief overview of the area of food packaging. It is intended to
give the reader an understanding of a broad, highly technical area. Just go to a food
store and look at all the types of packaging used for food items.
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packaging is preservation. Packaging offers other advantages also that relate to food
protection and quality. Packaging is used to protect the product from physical damage.
An example would be the injection of nitrogen into bags of potato chips to keep them
from being crushed. Another example would be the use of fiberboard for eggs which
keeps them from damage does distribution and storage. Packaging also protects the
product from the environmental contamination from dirt, insects and air. The use of
simple plastic bags for the packaging of breads, role, fruits and vegetables are
examples. We often refer to this type of packaging as “dust covers”. Packaging can
also be used to limit the amount of oxygen present around the product. Oxygen is the
main cause of rancidity of fat and fosters the growth of many bacteria. By using an
oxygen impermeable material around food and eliminating oxygen, we can
dramatically increase the shelf-life of food. Examples are vacuum packaging and
modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) whereby oxygen is excluded from the food.
Packaging also plays a role in limiting the loss of moisture in food products thereby
preventing the surface dehydration of foods.
Food packaging is also used to aid the customer in the use of the product. Food
packaging should have features which make the product easier to use and add
convenience. This includes zip-lock / recloseable features, microwaveable products
like popcorn, screw caps like on milk containers, dual ovenable trays, presliced
cheeses etc.
Food packaging is often used to unitize or group product together. Most food
products are shipped to stores in master cartons or cases that contain a number of retail
units. When retail stores or restaurants order product, they usually order cases. Some
retail foods are sold in individually packaged units such soft drinks, small bags of
chips and puddings for school children etc.
And the last function of food packaging is that of communicating and
educating the consumer. It is the package that identifies the product to the consumer. It
tells them via the label what they are buying and the amount. In addition to convincing
customers to buy the product, the package must inform consumers about how to
prepare or use the product, contents or amount of product contained, ingredients,
nutritional content, and other pertinent information found on a label on the package.
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The Requirements for Food Packaging
Food packaging has several requirements that must be met. It is not necessary
to meet all the following requirements and is dependent upon the product being
packaged. These are;
1) Be non-toxic
2) Protect against contamination and growth of microorganisms.
3) Act as a barrier to moisture and oxygen.
4) Filter out harmful UV light
5) Provide resistance to physical damage
6) Be transparent
7) Protect against the ingress of odors and environmental toxicants.
8) Be tamper-resistant or tamper evident.
9) Be easy to open
10) Have dispensing and resealing features
11) Be readily disposable
12) Meet size, shape and weight requirements.
11) Have appearance, printability features
12) Be low cost
13) Be compatible with the food
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Metal
• Most cans are made of either steel or aluminum.
• The majority of canned products are in steel. Up until a few years ago, most
steel cans were coated with tin, hence the term “tin can”. The tin has been
replaced with thin coatings of chromium and chromium oxide and some food
compatible organic coating.
• The strength of the can is very important with the canning of fruits and
vegetable since it must be able to withstand the pressure of retorting.
• Steel cans are common for retorted fruits and vegetables because of the
strength needed to withstand the external pressure exerted from retorting.
• Aluminum is used primarily in the beverage industry (soft drinks and beer)
since aluminum is structurally weak and the internal pressure from the carbon
dioxide in the drink adds the necessary strength to the container.
Glass
• Glass is chemically inert and an absolute barrier to the permeation of oxygen
and water vapor.
• The principle limitations to glass are its susceptibility to breakage, which may
come from internal pressure, impact and thermal shock, its weight which
increases shipping costs and the large amounts of energy required for forming
into containers.
• Glass is primarily formed from oxides of metals, with the most common being
silicon dioxide which is common sand.
• Many glass containers are being phased out of use to plastics. For example,
milk and coffee used to be sold in glass jars but now come in plastic containers.
• Breakage, liability issues, shipping weight are all reasons that glass is slowly
being replaced by plastic.
Paper, Paperboard and Fiberboard
• The principle differences between these three are thickness and ultimate use.
• Papers are thin, flexible and used for bags and wraps.
• Paperboard is thicker, more rigid and used to construct single-layer cartons.
• Fiberboard is made by combining layers of strong papers and used to construct
secondary shipping containers and is often referred to as “corrugated
paperboard”.
• When used in primary containers, most paper products are treated, coated or
laminated to improve their protective properties.
• Paper from wood pulp and reprocessed waste paper is bleached and coated or
impregnated with waxes, resins, lacquers, plastics and laminations of
aluminum to improve its strength.
• Other additives can be used to increase flexibility, tear resistance, burst
strength, wet strength, grease resistance, sealability, appearance, printability
and barrier properties
Plastics
• The term “plastics” refers to a broad range of materials that have the common
property of being composed of very large long-chain molecules and are made
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by connecting small repeating molecules called “monomers” together in a
head-to-tail fashion, hence their name “polymers”.
• Scientists came up with the concept of polymers from studying some natural
occurring polymers such as starches, proteins and natural rubber.
• There are only about 20 polymers that are used in food packaging but when
they are combined in a variety of ways, they give rise to hundreds of different
plastic-containing structures. These polymers vary widely in strength, oxygen
and moisture permeability, sealability etc
• Polyamide Nylon
• Polyethylene
• Polypropylene
• Polystyrene
Copolymers
• One can use a combination of the previous mentioned polymers to make what
is called copolymers that combine the strengths of various polymers.
• For example, we can combine ethylene with vinyl acetate, we get the plastic
polyethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer known as ethylene-vinyl acetate
Laminates
• One can fuse together various types of paper, plastics and aluminum foil to
create a class of films called laminates.
• The advantage of laminates is that they combine the advantages of certain
materials to improve the resulting film.
• Some commercial laminates may contain up to 8 layers.
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Coextrusion
• Coextrusion is the process where by two or more molten plastics are layered
upon each other in a flat manner and ultimately produces a multilayer film on
cooling
Edible Films
• Edible films have been around for centuries. Sausage casings are one example.
• Food materials can be protected from loss of volatiles or reaction from other
food ingredients by being encapsulated in protective edible materials.
• This can be accomplished by spraying a thin film of gelatin, gum arabic or
other edible material onto a food product.
• The coating of raisins with starches to prevent them from moistening the
packaged breakfast cereal is one example.
• Edible films are also used to coat fresh fruits and vegetables to reduce moisture
loss and provide increased resistance to the growth of surface molds.
• The most common and oldest edible film is wax.
• A wide range of products such as apples are waxed for appearance and
improved keeping quality
Meat Packaging
• Fresh red meats such as beef and pork have traditionally been overwrapped in a
styrofoam tray with PVC film- oxygen permeability for red color. More
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recently, meats are being packaged in modified gas atmospheres such as a
mixture of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
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• Most soft drinks in aluminum cans
• Some juices sold in plastic jugs
• Coffee sold in glass jars, plastic jars and metal cans
Eggs
• The egg shell is mother nature’s most perfect package. Enzymes under surface
prevent microbial invasion
• Usually sold in paperboard container that protects the eggs against shock
Popcorn
• Packaged with outer plastic wrap to prevent moisture migration.
• Inner paper package contains a susceptor than focuses the microwaves energy
to pop the popcorn.
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8. Food Processing Regulations
A) Introduction
B) History of Food Regulations and Major Legislation
C) Food Processing Regulations – General
D) FDA Regulations
E) USDA Regulations
F) Ingredient Uses in Food Products
G) Local Contacts
A) Introduction;
The federal government uses two agencies, the Food & Drug Administration
(FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture /Food Safety & Inspection Agency
(USDA/FSIS) to regulate the safety and standards of food products. The role of food
regulations is to ensure that foods are 1) safe, 2) pure, 3) wholesome, 4) sanitary and 5)
honestly labeled. All regulations have these roles in mind. As a general rule, if your
product contains more than 3% raw meat or poultry or more than 2% cooked meat or
poultry, it is under the jurisdiction of the USDA/FSIS. Foods containing lesser
amounts of meat and poultry and all other foods not containing meat and poultry are
under the jurisdiction of the FDA.
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Major food legislation;
The English and even early colonists had food laws but most were of minor
consequence. The first major food law in the United States was the Pure Food and
Drug Act of 1906 which was the first federal food act developed by Dr Harvey Wiley
who is considered the father of the FDA. The second law was the Federal Meat
Inspection Act of 1906. This act was in response to a book called The Jungle by Upton
Sinclair which exposed the horrible sanitary and dangerous practices in meat packing
houses. The act resulted in mandatory inspection of animals, slaughtering conditions
and processing facilities. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938
authorized the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that we know
today. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission was also established in 1938 for the
purpose of preventing false advertising. The Federal Poultry Products Act of 1957 was
the first poultry regulations to be enacted. The Nutritional Labeling and Education Act
of 1990 was developed to provide for uniform and consistent nutritional labels.
B) Standards of Identity
Standards of identity specify in detail what foods can and cannot be packaged
under a given name. Before you decide what product you are going to make, check on
the standard of identity of what you think it is. The purpose of standards of identity is
to inform consumers what the product is since they have a right to know what they are
purchasing. For example, for a product to be called Catsup, it must meet the standard
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of identity – Which includes many criteria such as containing tomatoes and “The
consistency of the finished food is such that its flow is not more than 14 centimeters in
30 seconds at 20 deg.C when tested in a Bostwick Consistometer”. It can flow slower
than 14 centimeters in 30 seconds which would mean it is very thick but it cannot flow
any faster which would be more of a tomato juice. You probably didn’t know that
standards were so specific.
Another example is that of barbecued pork or beef. The standard of identity for
barbecue states that it “shall be cooked by the direct action of dry heat resulting from
the burning of hard wood or the hot coals there from for a sufficient period to assume
the usual characteristics of a barbecued article, which include the formation of a brown
crust on the surface and the rendering of surface fat. The product may be basted with a
sauce during the cooking process. The weight of barbecued meat shall not exceed 70
percent of the weight of the fresh uncooked meat”. If your product does not fit this
description, you cannot legally call it barbecue. You can call it “Barbecue-Flavored”
or “Barbecue-style” but it is not barbecue. I strongly suggest that as you develop a new
food product, we check the standards of identity for that product. I have seen people
develop what that thought was barbecue because it was smoked meat only to later find
out it had to have a 30% weight loss.
Standards of identity for FDA regulated products can be found in Parts 130-
169 in the FDA regulations. The USDA/FSIS standards of identity can be found in
Part 319. Some products don’t have standards of identity. For FDA regulated products,
see Part 102. For USDA/FSIS regulated products, see Part 319.
Labeling;
Both the FDA and USDA /FSIS have regulations that are very similar in the
area of labeling of food products and nutritional labeling. These are found in the FDA
regulation Parts 101 and 104. The USDA/FSIS regulations are in Parts 317. The
discussion of labeling and nutritional labeling in this notebook can be found in Chapter
7.
D) FDA Regulations;
To view the FDA regulations, go to;
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_02/21cfrv2_02.html.
A drop down menu will appear as seen in Table 3:1. We will now go into some of the
major parts of the regulations that one needs to be familiar with.
Part 101/104 – Discusses the mandatory parts of the label and nutritional
labeling.
Part 102 - Lists the common of usual name for food products that do not
have a standard of identity.
Part 110 - Entitled “Current Good Manufacturing Practice for
Manufacturing, Packing and Holding Human Food”. This
regulation is the main one if you are involved in food
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manufacturing. The sections within this regulation include;
Section Content
110.3 Definitions
110.5 Current good manufacturing practices
110.10 Personnel
10.19 Exclusions
Subpart B Buildings and Facilities
110.30 Plant and grounds
110.35 Sanitary Operations
110.36 Sanitary facilities and controls
Subpart C Equipment
110.40 Equipment and utensils
Subpart E Production and Process Controls
110.80 Processes and Controls
110.93 Warehousing and distribution
Subpart G Defect Action Levels
110.110 Natural or unavoidable defects in food for human use that
present no health risk.
Part 114 – Acidified foods – discusses the regulations for acidified foods (pH
less than 4.6..
E) USDA Regulations;
To view the USDA/ FSIS regulations on meat and poultry product, go to;
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/9cfrv2_03.html.
A drop down menu like that seen in Table 3.2 will appear. We will now go
through some of the major parts;
Part 317 – Entitled “Labeling Marking Devices and Containers” covers the
regulations regarding general labeling, nutritional labeling,
packaging materials and weights
Part 319 – Definitions of Standards of Identity or Composition covers the
standards of identify of various meat products.
Part 416 – Sanitation covers the regulations on operational sanitation
Part 417 – HACCP regulations
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F) Ingredient Uses in Food Products;
The FDA lists food additives permitted in foods for both FDA and USDA/FSIS
products in Part 172 and Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in Part
182 of the Title 21 regulations. One should consult these lists before using an
ingredient in food. They can be found at the following URL.
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/21cfrv3_05.html.
G) Local Contacts;
If you live in Arkansas, the following contacts offices are contacts for both
food inspection services;
1) FDA- Arkansas Department of Health – Randy Carter- 4812 West Markham, Little
Rock, AR 72205-3867 (800/482-5400 ext 2809)
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Table 8-1; Index of FDA Regulations
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166 Margarine
168 Sweeteners and table syrups
169 Food dressings and flavorings
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590 Inspection of eggs and egg products (Egg Products Inspection Act) Voluntary inspection of egg
products
592 Voluntary inspection of egg products
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