Microbiological risk mitigation inthe primary processing of plant-based raw materials

Matteo Campagnoli

Nestlé Research, Switzerland

matteo.campagnoli@rdls.nestle.com

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Outline

Inactivation studies• Washing

• Drying

• Steaming

Mild technologies & scientific challenges

Should we consider the microbiological risk for plant-based raw materials?

Guidance booklets overview

Supply chain & microbiological risk

1

2

3

4

5

Creation of shared value 6

Conclusions 7

3

Why we must consider the microbiological risk for plant-based raw materials

4

Supply chain & microbiological risk

GAP

7 Routes of microbial

contamination• Growing field and adjacent land

• Animals

• Manure-based soil amendments

• Agricultural water

• Hygiene and human health

• Worker harvesting practices

• Equipment, premises and transportation

GMP

Mild processing

• Washing

• Drying

• Steaming

5

Supply chain & microbiological risk

HarvestingGrowing ConsumerMild

processingNestlé

Control

measure, e.g.

GAP

Washing Candying /

drying

NO control

measure (RTE)

NO control

measure

e.g.

pasteurization

6

Upstream supply chain & microbiological riskmanagement

Supplier Nestlé

• GFSI approved certification

• Nestlé technical audits

improve internal technical expertise

• Supplier continous improvement

voluntary training

Development of

guidance booklets and

auditing tools on mild

processing

7

Translation of science into application

Scientific studies

External experts

Internal experts

Guidance booklets & auditing tools

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Mild technologies: scientific challenges

• Technologies with limited heat load (no official guidelines available)

• Product changes in moisture throughout

processing

• Dynamic microbial behaviour towards heat

resistance

• Impossibility to run prediction models

• Understand microbial inactivation at lab and pilot plant scale

• Identify suitable surrogate microorganisms

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Raw materials selection

Onion (air-drying)

Basil (air-drying)

Blueberry (candying)

Raisin (air-pasteurization)

Freeze-dried basil (steaming)

Black pepper (steaming)

Herbs & spices

Vegetables Fruits

Selection criteria:

• Volumes

• Processing at supplier

• Risk assessment for Nestlé finished products

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Inactivation studies: washing

• Collaboration with Ghent University

• Literature review on processing and inactivation

• Expert opinion on safe processing for 4 chemicals

• Delivery of one fact sheet for each chemical

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Washing booklet: content

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Inactivation studies: drying

• Definition of process conditions delivering 4 log10 reduction

• Identification of surrogate for process validations

aw 0.99

aw 0.95

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Microorganisms

• Sourced from national culture

collections

• Linked to previous outbreaks

• Linked to the specific raw material

• Known for high heat resistance

PATHOGENS

Salmonella spp

STEC

Listeria monocytogenes

Hepatitis A Virus (HAV)

SURROGATES

Enterococcus faecium ATCC

8459

Escherichia coli P1 ATCC BAA 1427

Listeria innocua

Murine Norovirus (MNV)

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Drying booklet: content

15

Drying booklet: content

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Drying booklet: content

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Inactivation studies: steaming

Inoculation 1%

w/w + holding at

22°C / 4 days

PATHOGENS

Salmonella spp

STEC

Listeria monocytogenes

SURROGATES

Enterococcus faecium

ATCC 8459

Escherichia coli P1 ATCC BAA

1427

Listeria innocua

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Steaming booklet: content

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Steaming booklet: content

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Auditing tools

• 1 checklist for each technology

• Presence of scoring system

• Used as pre-audit assessment tool

• Can be used for continous

improvement at supplier level

• Booklets to support checklists

• Used for training of auditors and

suppliers

21

Communication

Internal Corporate Quality

Supplier Quality Assurance Network

Procurement

External Product Associations

Health Authorities

Private companies

Corporate website:

https://www.nestle.com/aboutus/suppliers

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Shared value creation

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Conclusions In the supply chain of mildly processed raw materials, it is keyto minimize microbiological contamination and maximizeinactivation.

The R&D work done provides clear guidance on the microbialsurrogates to use on each technology for process validationsand the key process parameters to control for maximizingmicrobiological inactivation.

Mild technologies (e.g. air-drying) tipically applied for qualityobjectives and not food safety, could also be considered controlpoints for microbiological hazards.

In the abscence of globally recognized guidelines, mild processconditions need a validation study to prove safety.

Acknowledgments

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University of Gent, Belgium:

Prof. Mieke Uyettendaele

Prof. Frank Devlieghere

Prof. Imca Sampers

Zijin (Cece) Zhou

Bühler:

Nicolas Meneses

Nestlé Research:

Sophie Zuber

Françoise Julien-Javaux

Matteo Campagnoli

Frederique Cantergiani

Laurence Blayo

Thierry Putallaz

Sophie Butot

Lise Michot

Xi Bai

Yingyi Zhang

Adrianne Klijn

Mireille Moser

Questions…

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