Food safety model eliminates growth of listeria monocytogenes in fish
A strong focus on food safety goes without saying as a manufacturer of quality food. Royal Greenland has taken it one step further; applying a specially developed food safety model to completely eliminate the dangerous growth of listeria (listeria monocytogenes) in lightly preserved products such as our cold smoked and marinated fish. The software is based on research from The Technical University of Denmark and when combined with Royal Greenland's own food safety model the products have a very high food safety and the risk of listeria growth is eliminated for the entire shelf life.
Almost 15 years ago, Royal Greenland and The Technical University of Denmark began the complex task of mapping the growth of listeria in lightly preserved seafood. The results have led to an advanced mathematical model – able to predict the growth of listeria in Royal Greenland's products and thereby prevent the growth of listeria in lightly preserved seafood. The model has been implemented in practical and user-friendly software, installed at Royal Greenland's production facility.
The software is a great tool for product development and production optimization. It is capable of including up to 12 different environmental factors and options to simulate adjustments to the production method such as storage temperature, pH and salt levels. Lowering the salt levels as a health precaution is a desire from many markets such as the UK and Scandinavia.
The research also shows that organic acids - added in the right manner - completely eliminates the growth of listeria in lightly preserved seafood. Because listeria is known to grow under conditions where other bacteria are not able to, this is a very significant discovery. Listeria is known to be able to grow at refrigerator temperature and in the absence of oxygen.
Addition of organic acids lower and stabilize the pH value of the fish, while having no effect on the texture, taste or appearance. The addition of organic acids to the production has also opened the door to lowering the salt levels, which was previously used as a preservative.
The implementation of the software makes it possible to simulate different levels of salt and predict the outcome of even small alterations and adjustments. Before implementing the software to the production, development of new cold smoked fish was both expensive and time-consuming because of extensive tests.
The triad of food safety
The model is a significant addition that gives a technical edge in monitoring and predicting the behavior of the bacteria growth in the product, where food safety is of utmost importance. Even though the software is a great tool, the basis for ultimate food safety is still the use of high quality raw material in combination with a strict focus on a clean production environment.
Royal Greenland has, based on more than 25 years of experience with smoked seafood and the recent discoveries from the research study developed a model to completely eliminate the risk of critical concentration of listeria. The model takes all steps in the production into account to ensure ultimate food safety.
In the food safety model, Royal Greenland emphasizes 3 important parameters to ensure food safety;
The model is a triangular process, where 3 central checkpoints in combination with each other guarantee the highest form of food safety. If these 3 conditions are controlled properly the products will have a high food safety and the risk of listeria growth is eliminated.
Strict quality control with the raw material
Food safety starts at the very beginning of the process, and selecting high quality fish is of paramount importance for both food safety and quality of the final product. Royal Greenland is close to the fish every step of the way from water to finished product. The Greenland halibut used for smoked products is caught by Royal Greenland's own fishing fleet or by fishermen landing their catches directly at our facilities, giving Royal Greenland an overview of the entire production chain and the key to ensure fish of great quality.
With a mindset pointed towards quality, Royal Greenland's strict requirements ensures the highest possible quality of the raw material used, setting the standard for the finished result already at the beginning of processing.
Thorough daily cleaning
Another key point of focus is cleaning. Several daily cleanings are carried out at the production facility, where our cold smoked products are processed. The cleaning procedure is based on principles from the HACCP and ensures a systematic and preventative approach.
All machines and cutting stations are disassembled and cleaned several times every day between individual batches to ensure a high food safety standard during production and to eliminate cross-contamination. In addition to the comprehensive cleaning routines, ongoing tests are carried out in the production environment by internal and external auditors.
Stabilizing PH-levels
As a direct result from the research project between Royal Greenland and the Technical University of Denmark, all cold smoked products are added organic acids during the salting.
When salting the fish for smoke, Royal Greenland uses salt injection or combi-salting (a mix of salt injection and hand salting) depending on which method is best suited for the particular product.
The organic acids are added during the salt injection.
Software program available to all
The software developed by the Technical University of Denmark's Food Department is free and available online for download. The software is in use by more than 6.000 users across the world and in several industries such as meat and dairy production.
Following the implementation of the software at the production facility in Hirtshals, the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries has issued a declaration stating that the amount of listeria in smoked products produced by Royal Greenland cannot multiply to dangerous levels during the products’ shelf life, making the products a champion of food safety.
Read the declaration here
What is Listeria?
- Listeria (Listeria monocytogenes) is a naturally occurring bacterium that can be found everywhere in our surroundings and most people eat contaminated foods from time to time, but only a few contract listeriosis.
- Listeriosis is the name of the illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes.
- It is most commonly contracted through ingestion of contaminated food items, most often cheeses made from unpasteurized milk and ready-to-eat products of meat or seafood including cold-smoked fish.
- The illness most commonly shows itself as flu-like symptoms, but poses no real threat to healthy persons.
- At risk are the elderly, fetuses, newborns and people with an already weakened immune system.
- Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics, but has a high mortality rate of about 20%.
