Sous Vide and HACCP in Restaurants Operations. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sous vide is an innovative culinary advancement that demands additional food safety requirements as the process involves lower temperatures and reduced oxygen packaging. However, it also provides additional benefits from the technology used in the process.

The technique has soared in popularity thanks to its overall efficiency, practicality, cost savings and high-quality results. Food products cooked using this method however, are subject to both reduced oxygen packaging and lower cooking temperatures; two possible risk factors for pathogen growth. To combat these risks, commercial kitchens are required to have a food safety plan in place to demonstrate, track and ensure that the establishment is following proper food safety practices, set forth by the FDA Food Code. A description of HACCP (or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) illustrates how the scientific method can be used to control the increased risks involved.

Per the 2013 FDA Food Code 3-502.12, as a high hazard process, the Department requires an HACCP plan to be submitted and approved before incorporating a sous-vide process in production.

Food products that lend themselves best to sous vide style cooking are usually protein rich type foods such as eggs, poultry, meats and fish. To help ensure safe food production, cooks need to follow very precise procedures with exact temperature and time combinations and in some cases, the cooking temperatures are well below what is conventionally recommended.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there are valid, food safety concerns associated with this method of cooking. Sous vide cooking could possibly result in raw or undercooked foods which have a higher risk of causing foodborne illnesses from bacteria, viruses, or parasites. When not performed properly, a potential risk exists for the development of dangerous pathogens such as Listeria, Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella, and/or E.coli! One major concern is the potential for survival and growth of bacteria at these low cooking temperatures for an extended amount of time. Another concern is the vacuum-packaging process used which removes or reduces the oxygen content inside the bag, creating optimal conditions for Clostridium botulinum to potentially develop and grow.

On the other hand, proponents say that cooking food at lower temperatures results in improved quality, newer textures, better moisture retention and tenderized foods with more intense flavors. Those who are willing to take the risk and employ this cooking method must pay serious attention to food safety. In fact, in most states, restaurants that seek to employ sous vide cooking methods are required to apply for a variance and submit a safety plan to their local regulatory agency. Sous vide chefs that are aware of the potential risks can successfully manage these food safety concerns.

Seven Steps of HACCP Safety

 

 

 

 

 

There are seven steps required for a HACCP plan to meet requirements:

1. Analyze the risks being taken and hazards created
2. Identify Critical Control Points, steps at which measures can be applied to reduce or eliminate the risk
3. Establish critical limits to determine at which points risk is sufficiently reduced or eliminated (These steps must be supported using thorough research, which can be found on www.fsis.usda.gov)
4. Monitor testing procedures with an established method and frequency
5. Take corrective actions to bring risks to within acceptable limits
6. Keep records to monitor the actions taken and document the results observed throughout the process
7. Verify procedures are being followed, validate results to ensure the system is working as intended and constantly revisit the process for effectiveness
   

Though the steps are simple, understanding how they apply to sous vide requires additional professional education. Because of limited space, only some of the biological hazards for sous vide cooking and their controls are discussed below:

1. Raw food products purchases typically contain millions of microorganisms - inside and out - most of which are spoilage bacteria. To reduce the risk of harmful pathogens multiplying rapidly, store your meat, fish, or poultry products in a refrigerator (or in a freezer) and use them before their “best by” date.
2. Vacuum-seal raw food products. Vacuumized packaging by itself does not reduce the microorganisms, requiring the product to either be returned to the refrigerator / freezer or (in most cases) begin the cooking process immediately in a temperature-controlled water bath.
3. Heat vacuum-sealed raw food products in a temperature-controlled water bath or steam oven. Remember that it is critical for the pouches to be completely submerged and not overlap to ensure uniform heating / cooking.
4. If the properly cooked food product is served immediately, there is no concern relating to the growth of any additional pathogens.
5. If you plan to chill or freeze the food product for later use, then it is important to follow a few, simple steps:
6. The food product must be chilled rapidly to minimize the sporulation of C. perfringens (as it creates its toxins while sporulating); cooling packaged products from 135ºF to 41ºF in a maximum of 6 hours (chill from 135ºF to 70ºF within 2 hours, and chill from 70ºf to 41ºF (or below) within 4 more hours and store under 41ºF for up to 7 days from the date of packaging).
7. The food product must remain sealed inside its vacuumized pouch to prevent recontamination.
8. Sous vide prepared products must be properly stored in either a refrigerator or freezer: proper storage is critical in preventing spores of C. botulinum and B. cereus from outgrowth and toxin production, which are not destroyed when reheating or rethermalizing (neither S. aureus nor B. cereus toxins are destroyed by heating and C. botulinum toxins need either a high temperature or a long, extended heating time to be destroyed).
9. When reheating or rethermalizing chilled food products, it is important to prevent toxin formation by C. botulinum and B. cereus and the growth of C. perfringens, since you should have already reduced the non-spore-forming pathogens in the pasteurization step. Reheating to a core temperature of 54.4 °C/130 °F within 6 h is generally recommended.
   

Does thickness matter for sous vide?

A thicker steak takes longer than a thin steak, so when cooking steak sous vide, the minimum cooking time is determined by the thickness of the cut. The food only needs to cook long enough for the heat to make its way from the outside of the meat to the center. The time it takes for the core of the food to reach the desired temperature in a sous-vide is dependent on the thickness, not the weight. If it is twice as thick, it will take four times as long to heat all the way through.

 

 

 

 

 

Are Ziploc bags acceptable for sous vide?

The key to sous vide, which is French for “under vacuum,” is putting a protein, often meat, in a plastic bag and removing all the air. This is the step that most often raises questions for risk-averse cooks. Sous vide is (essentially, to cook - but not boil - food under vacuum in plastic bags) a very old cooking technique that involves placing food in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag, maintaining it submerged in water heated to a specific temperature (generally under 190 degrees Fahrenheit), it cooks incredibly gently and evenly, retaining more moisture… But will any old plastic bag do or do we need specialized, heavy-duty bags to prevent the plastic's chemicals from transferring to our food?

To answer Dr. Don Schaffner says:

"There are risks for cooking sous vide, but I don't consider using Ziploc bags high on the list of what those risks are." From a microbiological perspective, said Dr. Schaffner, the key to the safety of sous vide cooked food is getting the cooking time and temperature right.

Now, Dr. Schaffner wouldn't approve of just any old plastic bag. Inexpensive, flimsy zip-top bags may contain BPA and phthalates, substances that act as "hormone disruptors" that could be transferred to our food when heated in a microwave oven. They may also contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which can leach into foods — especially fatty foods like cheese and meats. (Why we were warned several years ago to not rest plastic wrap directly on food when microwaving.)

Best to look for bags made from high-density or low-density polyethylene and/or polypropylene. They can't be boiled but are food-safe (and won't melt) up to about 195F. (You wouldn't sous vide at that high of a temperature anyway.) Ziploc and Glad brand bags are made from polyethylene plastic and are free of BPAs and dioxins. A good rule of thumb is that when a bag is rated as microwave safe (which requires FDA approval) you can use it for sous vide. Even Dr. Schaffner agrees.

Conclusion

Sous vide cooking is a powerful tool in the modern kitchen: precise temperature control gives superior reproducibility, better control over product doneness, reduction of pathogens to a safe level at lower temperatures and more choice of texture than traditional cooking methods allow. Vacuumized packaging helps improve heat flow, extends the shelf-life of food products by eliminating the risk of recontamination, reduces off-flavors from oxidation in addition to reducing the loss of nutrients to the cooking medium.

Precise temperature control lets you take advantage of both the fast and slow changes during the cooking process; fast changes such as doneness, are mostly determined by the highest temperature that the food reaches and the slow changes typically taking hours to days, allowing you to prepare tough cuts of meat which would normally be braised, made tender while maintaining a medium-rare doneness. Precise temperature control also gives you the ability to pasteurize meat and poultry at lower temperatures than traditional cooking methods, eliminating the need to be cooked to a well-done state to be safe.

Vacuumized packaging is important when extended shelf-life is required: the vacuumized pouch prevents recontamination of food during storage and allows for a more efficient heat transfer. Vacuumized packaging is not necessary when doing cook-hold sous vide cooking and many restaurants do not vacuum package the food, cooking directly in a convection steam oven or a temperature-controlled bath of fat (e.g., oil or butter) or flavored broth (e.g., stock) if it will be served immediately.

Roberto Beltran, Chemical Engineer.

"I'm an engineer with experience in Food process and quality since 2011, with additional certifications in food safety systems, such as FSSC22000 and SQF. I'm in charge of the creation of food safety plans for restaurants and facilities."