Welcome to the Agency's online training course about vacuum packing and modified atmosphere packing of food. This course aims to give local authority food law enforcement officers that are responsible for food hygiene a basic understanding of the vacuum packing processes and the importance of microbiological safety in their use. The course might also be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about Clostridium botulinum and food safety.
This course is divided into four modules. You can work through each of the modules or select particular ones according to existing knowledge and/or interest. At the end of each module is a short multiple choice test.
The training content includes information on the hazards associated with vacuum packing and modified atmosphere packing, the causes and growth of Clostridium botulinum and the control factors that can be used to prevent is growth and toxin production. The course also gives general advice to enforcement officers with food safety concerns in relation to vacuum packing processes.
The course is intended as a refresher or update. All food law enforcement officers should have covered microbiological hazards and methods of food preservation in their pre-qualification training.
The training aims to:
- Provide a reminder of the microbiological safety issues associated with vacuum packing.
- Provide a basic understanding of the interaction of water activity (aw), salt, the acidity or alkalinity of a solution (the pH level), preservatives and their effects on the stability of vacuum packed products.
- Consider the enforcement options available when faced with concerns over the safety and integrity of a vacuum packing process.
The content of this online training course is based largely on the findings and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF). Details of the ACMSF findings and recommendations can be found in Module 1.
See the ACMSF website for further information about the committee and its work.
Further information on vacuum and modified atmosphere packing can be obtained from a one-day training course, provided by the Food Standards Agency. This is one of the training courses provided for food law enforcement officers.
See the FSA website for further information about training for enforcement officers.
In 1992, the ACMSF considered the safety of chilled vacuum packed and modified atmosphere packed foods. They concluded that the primary concern with such foods is that of microbiological safety. Concerns with chilled foods include:
- Micro-organisms – in particular, the psychrotrophs that are capable of growing at low temperatures.
- Shelf-life – establishing a safe shelf-life can be complex (particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Pasteurisation processes – the trend towards using lower heat treatments to retain product characteristics.
- Temperature control – the requirement for effective temperature control throughout the chill chain.
- Vacuum packing and modified atmosphere packaging techniques may remove or inhibit spoilage micro-organisms and allow surviving or contaminating pathogens to grow in the absence of competition.
- Chilled foods are transported, stored and displayed at temperatures at or below 8ºC (the statutory maximum subject to exemptions).
- Non-proteolytic strains of Clostridium botulinum (sometimes known as psychrotrophic strains of Clostridium botulinum) can grow and produce toxins at temperatures lower than 8ºC.
The Food Standards Agency has published guidance, as well as a factsheet, to help minimise the risk of Clostridium botulinum in vacuum and modified atmosphere packed chilled foods. The guidance is essential reading for small food businesses and local authority environmental health officers.
This course contains information and extracts from the guidance, which is based largely on the findings and recommendations of the ACMSF.
The March 2009 report on the public inquiry into the September 2005 outbreak of E. coli O157 in South Wales highlighted concerns about the dual use of and appropriate cleaning of vacuum packing equipment. The Agency has reviewed its advice and published this guidance: ‘E. coli O157: Control of Cross-Contamination – Guidance for food business operators and enforcement authorities’. The guidance details the steps that food businesses need to take to control cross-contamination between raw foods and ready-to-eat foods where E. coli O157 is a hazard. The guidance includes advice on dual use of equipment and machinery, general cleaning and disinfection procedures, and additional disinfection considerations for equipment and machinery, including vacuum packing machines. See Module 4, Section 1: 'What is the Agency's advice on the dual use of equipment for raw and ready-to-eat foods, and the cleaning of that equipment'.
The course attracts three hours for CPD. When all the multiple choice tests at the end of the course introduction and each module have been completed, a certificate can be downloaded and printed out to certify completion of the course online.
To complete the multiple choice tests, you must register your first name and surname (the FSA will only use this information to generate your personalised CPD certificate) as well as your email address (this will only be used if you need to reset your password) using the CPD dashboard.
What is CPD?
Professionals, such as local authority environment health officers, use CPD as a means to maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge and skills needed for their professional work. Some professional associations require their members undertake a minimum number of hours of CPD activity each year to maintain professional status.