Commercial sterility determination (Preserves ve Canned Products)

Commercial Sterility Determination (Canned and Canned Products)
Commercial Sterility Determination (Canned and Canned Products)

Following the amendments to the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Microbiological Criteria (Communiqué no: 2009 / 2009) issued by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in 68, commercial sterile foodstuffs are defined as follows: Commercial sterile foodstuffs are After 35 day incubation between 37 degrees, foodstuffs that do not leak and bombard their packaging or the difference between the pH values ​​measured before and after incubation do not exceed 50.

In the annexes of the Communiqué, commercial sterile foodstuffs that fall within this definition are stated as follows:

  • Canned meat and meat products
  • Canned fruits and vegetables
  • Pasteurized fruit and vegetable juices, mixtures thereof (nectars, purees, concentrates and the like) and flavored, fruit and similar beverages (excluding carbonated drinks) and syrups
  • Canned Ready Meals

Since canned food will be kept on shelves for a long time, some sterility must be pre-applied during production. In the preparation of canned foods, pre-cooking and filling stages are important for sterilization. At these stages, the microbial load of canned foods should be reduced. During the filling phase, the head space and the removal of air in the box are important steps.

Sterilization controls are carried out in canned food immediately after production. This check is to determine whether canned food is healthy. During these inspections, canned food is allowed to incubate at certain temperatures and the bombing status is checked after incubation.

In advanced laboratories, studies are carried out to determine the commercial sterility of canned and canned products within the scope of microbiological analyzes. These studies are based on standards published by national and international organizations. One of these standards is:

  • TS 10524 Microbiological test methods - In canned food

This standard for commercial sterility in canned foods includes incubation test and microbiological controls such as leakage after incubation, bombage control, pH difference before and after incubation, microscopic control before and after incubation, aerobic and anaerobic sowing after incubation.