EFSA issues guidelines for the confirmation and labeling of the shelf life of food packaging after opening

　

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Recently, the European Food Safety Agency (hereinafter referred to as EFSA) issued guidelines for the confirmation and labeling of the shelf life of foodmate.
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EFSA’s research results have a certain learning reference value for the formulation of relevant foodmate.
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The foodmate.
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Make an analysis of the significance of the formulation of laws and regulations for your reference.

 

　　1.
Background introduction

 

　　As part of the food safety management system, the European Commission requires the Biohazard Group of the European Food Safety Agency to provide scientific advice on food information provided to consumers by food companies in accordance with (EU) No 1169/2011.
Its purpose is to provide a scientific reference for the implementation guidelines of the European Union (EU) No 1169/2011.
This scientific opinion puts forward a risk analysis-based method that food companies should follow in terms of date-related labeling such as shelf life and labeling of edible and preservation methods.

 

　　This scientific opinion is mainly aimed at avoiding the increase of food safety risks, especially the risks related to the storage conditions, temperature and time of the food after the packaging is opened.
EFSA analyzes the internal and external factors that may affect the safety of food after opening the package, and proposes a decision tree method to help food companies confirm whether it is appropriate to explain to consumers the storage conditions and shelf life after opening the package.

 

　　2.
Whether it is appropriate to explain to consumers the decision-making method of storage conditions and shelf life after opening the package

 

　　When the food packaging is opened, pollutants in the environment (including physical, chemical, and biological pollutants) will come into contact with the food through various means such as air flow, liquid dripping, consumer hand contact, and other containers.
In turn, it will lead to an increase in the concentration of original pathogens in the food, or the introduction of new pathogens.
Whether it is opening food packaging or thawing frozen food, it changes the food-related conditions, thereby affecting the growth of pathogenic microorganisms or the ability to produce toxins.

　　So from the perspective of food safety, will the shelf life of the food after opening the package be shorter than the shelf life indicated on the original label, and how should companies explain their food to consumers? EFSA proposed a decision tree method based on five questions for reference by enterprises.
The basic assumptions of this method are: whether the food is always at risk of being contaminated by pathogenic bacteria after opening the package; and whether opening the package will change the pathogenic bacteria flora in the food or whether it will affect the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the food.
The main content of this method is shown in Figure 1.

　　Figure 1 How to determine the shelf life of food after opening the package

 

　　3.
Application examples

 

　　The following uses UHT milk as an example to introduce the use of this decision-making method.

 

　　UHT milk has high pH and water activity, so it can support the growth of pathogenic bacteria vegetative cells without opening the package (Q1: Yes); under the foreseeable temperature and storage conditions during its storage and transportation, food The company cannot provide evidence that its pathogens are not growing (Q2: No); therefore, after opening the package, UHT milk must be stored under refrigerated conditions.
Compared with the European Union, UHT milk in my country is sterilized by high temperature.
Therefore, there are no nutrient cells of pathogenic microorganisms in the UHT milk before opening the package (Q4: No).
Therefore, the shelf life of this UHT milk after opening the package must be short.
In the shelf life of the logo.
Different from my country’s UHT milk, there is a UHT milk that is not packaged aseptically in the European Union.
This product may have nutrient cells of pathogenic microorganisms before opening the package (Q4: Yes), and after opening the package, the food is affected The internal and external factors of the growth of pathogenic bacteria have not changed (Q5: No).
Therefore, after opening the package, this type of UHT milk is stored under refrigerated conditions, and the shelf life is the same as the shelf life indicated on the original label.  

　　4.
Conclusion

 

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