With new packaging, food processing facilities have to make sure their boxes, cans or pouches are safe for the consumer and don’t have any harmful bacteria.
A lot rides on packaging in food processing – strict guidelines have to be followed to keep harmful bacteria from entering products. While food processing facilities use sanitary shell and tube heat exchangers to control the temperature of food, contaminates such as bacteria and toxic formations can occur in the packaging process, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported.
The FDA said the two most important factors to consider in food processing is time and temperature management. Following both closely will help prevent any harmful substances or toxins from growing in the product. The FDA also recommended four other issues to take into judgment during food processing:
- Know the types of pathogenic bacteria that are plausible in food processing.
- Understand the initial amount of bacteria that first occurs in the food.
- Find the temperatures at which certain bacteria can grow and infect the product.
- Learn what bacteria can grow in certain types of food products.
Demand for new packaging?
In the food processing industry, many companies want to create a tasty, safe and easily accessible product for customers. According to a recent survey by Canadean, research discovered that approximately 1 in 5 consumersfind it difficult to open tinned food.
Of the respondents, young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 were the most likely (28 percent) to be upset over difficult tin packaging such as tuna or beans. However, Canadean also found that only 16 percent of those aged 55 and above found it frustrating to open these food products.
Even though it’s tough to believe younger adults are griping about how their food is packaged, food processing companies are taking the information as extremely valuable data so they can redevelop their position on packaging.
New risks associated with different packaging
However, with new packaging, food processing facilities have to make sure their boxes, cans or pouches are safe for the consumer and don’t have any harmful bacteria. Food processing plants will need the appropriate sanitary heat exchanger to make sure the product is correctly heated, poured and stored without any bacteria growth in the end product.
With incorrect or outdated shell and tube heat exchangers, food processing plants could risk the possibility of not killing off all the appropriate bacteria in food products before storing them for shipment. Updating the facility’s heat exchangers to efficient sanitary stainless steel units could mean all the difference.