322 Meat refrigeration The majority of plants rely on air blast cooling systems for the chilling of pre-cooked meat products. In batch systems the products, packs or tray of cooked material are placed directly on racks in the chiller or on trolleys that can be wheeled into the chiller when fully loaded. Continuous systems range from trolleys pulled through tunnels to conveyorised spiral or tunnel Some meals and products are chilled using cryogenic tunnels, however, care must be taken to avoid surface freezing. Imperviously packed prod- ucts can be chilled by immersion in cooled water or other suitable liquid. With some cooked products such as large hams in moulds and sausages, chlorinated water sprays can be used in the initial stages of cooling Increas ingly, pie fillings are pressure-cooked and vacuum cooled. With many prod ucts an initial cooling stage using ambient air can often substantially reduce the cooling load in the cooling system 16.1 Cooked meat 16.1.1 Legislation In the UK the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations(1995 apply to any food that "is likely to support pathogenic micro-organisms or the formation of toxins'and that must be kept at or below 8C. Regulation 11 does not define a cooling time or rate, only that the food should be cooled as quickly as possible following the final heating stage The guidance document to the above regulations produced by the Department of Health is even less specific Under heading Vill, cooling of food, paragraph 47 it states: The cooling period for any food would not be regarded as unacceptable merely because other equipment, not present at he business, could have cooled the food more quickly. The time taken to chieve cooling must be consistent with food safety. Cooling will often be a step which is critical to food safety The Meat Products(Hygiene) Regulations(1994)contain special condi tions for meat-based prepared meals. They require that the meat product and the prepared meal shall be refrigerated to an internal temperature of +10C or less within a period of not more than 2h after the end of cooking However, they then go on to state that produce may be exempt from the 2h period where a longer period is justified for reasons connected with the production technology employed. The wording is similar in the EC Meat recurve In the USa the essential rules of the US Regulations(318. 179 CFR CH Il, 1.1.96 edition) on safe cooling of cooked meats are Chilling shall begin within 90 min after the cooking cycle is completed All products should be chilled from 488C to 12. 7C in no more thanThe majority of plants rely on air blast cooling systems for the chilling of pre-cooked meat products. In batch systems the products, packs or trays of cooked material are placed directly on racks in the chiller or on trolleys that can be wheeled into the chiller when fully loaded. Continuous systems range from trolleys pulled through tunnels to conveyorised spiral or tunnel air blast chillers. Some meals and products are chilled using cryogenic tunnels, however, care must be taken to avoid surface freezing. Imperviously packed prod￾ucts can be chilled by immersion in cooled water or other suitable liquid. With some cooked products such as large hams in moulds and sausages, chlorinated water sprays can be used in the initial stages of cooling. Increas￾ingly, pie fillings are pressure-cooked and vacuum cooled. With many prod￾ucts an initial cooling stage using ambient air can often substantially reduce the cooling load in the cooling system. 16.1 Cooked meat 16.1.1 Legislation In the UK the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations (1995) apply to any food that ‘is likely to support pathogenic micro-organisms or the formation of toxins’ and that must be kept at or below 8 °C. Regulation 11 does not define a cooling time or rate, only that the food should be cooled as quickly as possible following the final heating stage. The guidance document to the above regulations produced by the Department of Health is even less specific. Under heading VIII, cooling of food, paragraph 47 it states: ‘The cooling period for any food would not be regarded as unacceptable merely because other equipment, not present at the business, could have cooled the food more quickly. The time taken to achieve cooling must be consistent with food safety. Cooling will often be a step which is critical to food safety’. The Meat Products (Hygiene) Regulations (1994) contain special condi￾tions for meat-based prepared meals. They require that the meat product and the prepared meal shall be refrigerated to an internal temperature of +10 °C or less within a period of not more than 2 h after the end of cooking. However, they then go on to state that produce may be exempt from the 2 h period where a longer period is justified for reasons connected with the production technology employed. The wording is similar in the EC Meat Products Directive. In the USA the essential rules of the US Regulations (318.17 9 CFR CH III, 1.1.96 edition) on safe cooling of cooked meats are: • Chilling shall begin within 90 min after the cooking cycle is completed. • All products should be chilled from 48.8 °C to 12.7 °C in no more than 6 h. 322 Meat refrigeration