Developing a verification program for sanitation and pasteurisation activities during pineapple juice production

Abstract

Pineapple juice is a popular refreshing drink served in most catering establishments in Ghana. Despite its nutritious benefits, a number of spoilage microorganisms have been associated with the juice with the most important one being Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is known to reduce the shelf life of the product. It is imperative to put in place certain control measures such as hygiene or temperature controls, which have to be verified that they are indeed under control in order to limit microbial contamination and growth. Most small and medium-sized enterprises in the food production industry in Ghana do not have quality management systems due to lack of support and technical expertise. This present work was aimed at developing an on-going verification program, based on existing literature, for the pasteurisation and sanitation activities during pineapple juice production. The main focus was on the critical factors influencing the effectiveness of the pasteurisation and sanitation activities and how verification had to be done in terms of frequency, person responsible, methods/sources of information, documentation requirements and verification data analysis. A verification program has been successfully developed and is being suggested to pineapple juice production companies for implementation