Validating Critical Limits

The University of Wisconsin Center for Meat Process Validation

Resources for all HACCP Product Categories:

• Slaughter (Beef, Pork and Poultry)
• Raw/Ground and Raw/Not Ground
• Heat-Treated & Shelf-Stable
• Fully Cooked & Not Shelf-Stable
• Not Fully Cooked, Not Shelf Stable

News

• July 2nd, 2009 - View the August 2009 HACCP Brochure for the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point workshop for Meat, Poultry and Egg Plants taking place August 21 and 22.


• April 20th, 2009 - Our Shelf Stability Predictor provides a set of models for predicting the growth of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) on Ready-To-Eat meat products as a function of pH and water activity. Use these tools to help you decide if your product is shelf stable.
  
  
• Regulatory Education Sessions and "How To" Workshops for Small and Very Small Plants
   
  March 5th, 2009 - FSIS is holding a series of regulatory education sessions and 'how to' workshops beginning in March, 2009. The sessions will include a walk-through of a variety of topics, which may include HACCP, Sanitation Performance Standards, Sanitation SOPs, Rules of Practice, Food Defense strategies, and E. coli O157:H7 with the goal to provide practical tools and methods for proper application and compliance. To register by phone call 1-800-336-3747. More information is available from the USDA.
  
  
• Feb 12th, 2009 - Wisconsin ranks 8th nationwide with the value of livestock, poultry and their products, at nearly $4 billion; accounting for 70% of the total value of all agricultural products sold in the state. The Wisconsin meat processing industry is an important component of the animal industry in the state. Wisconsin has the largest number of state-inspected meat plants of any state in the United States, with over 300 small and very-small meat plants statewide. These small plants are often central to the livelihood of the rural communities in the state.

  Position description (PDF|108K)
  

• August 2008 - Researchers from the Center for Meat Process Validation presented six posters on meat safety research at the recent International Association for Food Protection annual meeting in Columbus, OH. Topics covered included validation of ground-and-formed beef jerky process lethality, validation of slow-cooking of unseasoned beef, and reducing Salmonella prevalence on pork carcasses in very small slaughter plants. To view the posters click on the photos below.

2008 IAFP Posters







• June 2008 - Information is available to assist meat and poultry slaughter plants and processors who need to develop a food defense plan.  Resources include a Food Defense self assessment checklist and worksheet for slaughter and processing facilities. You can find these resources and more on the Wisconsin Food Defense web page.


• June 2008 - Researchers at the USDA's Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, PA have recently completed a study on the lethality of several methods for processing whole-muscle turkey jerky. A brief summary of the paper is provided here. 


• May 30, 2008 - During the past 4 years, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the USDA's Eastern Regional Research Center have studied the lethality of several methods for processing whole-muscle beef jerky. The results of these studies have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journal articles. A Critical Limit Summary and the accompanying research articles can be found here.
  
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THERM© v2.0

Temperature History Evaluation for Raw Meats

THERM v2.0 is an online tool designed for evaluating process deviations for raw meat or poultry at temperatures between 50°F and 115°F (10°C to 46°C). Based on research by the University of Wisconsin Center for Meat Process Validation. S.C. Ingham, et al. 2007. J Food Protection 70:1445-1456.