4.3 Temperature during preparation of sausages

Found in:

Quality Assured Pork Sausages / Processing standards

4.3.1 Documented in-process checks shall be undertaken to monitor the product temperature up to the point of packing.

4.3.2 During the preparation of sausage, it is possible that due to mincing, mixing, chopping and filling that the mix temperature may exceed +7°C. Where this occurs, the finished product shall be chilled to <4°C within 4 hours of being placed into final packaging.

Guidance

Appropriate recipes and work instructions shall be in place and detail the required criteria for the range of sausages produced on site.

Where products are expected to have high meat content, for example in a Cumberland pork sausage compared to a standard pork sausage this may cause an increase in the product temperature during processing. Whilst the legal maximum temperature limit for a meat preparation is +7°C, some flexibility may be reflected by the approach taken by the auditor. If the product temperature was still at higher than 4°C 4hours after final packing, then this shall be viewed as a minor non-conformance. However, if there is evidence of widespread temperature abuse, a major non-conformance shall be considered. The use of ice, CO2 or nitrogen to control process temperature is acceptable.

Evidence

In-process and finished product storage temperature records since the last audit.