Time-related exemptions from temperature control

These regulations require “Chill holding” at 8 °C (46 °F) for “any food which is likely to support the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms or the formation of toxins.” Foods considered likely to fall into this category include the following:

Dairy products, such as soft or semi-hard cheeses ripened by molds and/or bacteria, and dairy based desserts, unless the pH is 4.5.
Cooked products such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, hard and soft cheese, rice, pulses, and vegetables.
Smoked or cured fish.
Smoked or cured ready-to-eat meat which is not ambient shelf-stable.
Prepared ready-to-eat foods such as prepared vegetables, salads.
Uncooked or partly cooked pastry and dough products such as pizzas, sausage rolls, or fresh pasta.

Time-related exemptions from temperature control are provided for the following products:

“(a) cooked pies and pasties containing meat, fish or any substitute for meat or fish or vegetables or cheese or any combination thereof encased in pastry into which nothing has been introduced after baking and sausage rolls which are intended to be sold on the day of their production or the next day.
“(b) uncut baked egg and milk pastry product, e.g., custard tarts and Yorkshire curd tarts intended for sale within 24 hours of production.”

General exemptions from chill holding requirements are given to “foods which, for the duration of their shelf life, may be kept at ambient temperatures with no risk to health.” A food business must provide “well-founded scientific assessment of the safety of the food at the specified temperature and shelf-life” for products recommended to be held above 8 °C (46 °F). Regulations do not articulate data requirements, rather they stipulate that assessments should be done by a “competent laboratory,” either in-house, for large businesses, or through independent laboratories.

These regulations recognize the influence of processing and time. For example, baking destroys vegetative cells and dehydrates exterior surfaces. The potential for growth of pathogenic spore formers exists, but time is used to control this hazard. The panel questions whether there is adequate scientific basis to support a time of one day of safety at ambient temperature for the time/related exemptions.