Automatic Safety Control in Food Processing

In food processing, the hygienic issues are the most important issues for the health of the consumer; in particular the microbiological safety of cooked food is also regulated by hygienic legislation. The undercooked meat, for example, may be a vehicle for many pathogens, consequently it is recommended to cook the foods to reduce the microbial concentration. During thermal processing of foods, the population of microorganisms present in the food decreases depending on the temperature of the product. The population of vegetative cells, such as E.Coli, Salmonella and Lysteria monocytogenes, will decrease in a logarithmic manner. The population of microbial spores will decrease according to a similar pattern but only after an initial lag time. The automatic supervision of food in terms of hygiene represents a huge advantage for persons who have no longer to take care of safety aspects during the cooking. With this type of system is behind this idea: an oven that automatically controls the safety of the food in absolutely respect of HACCP recommendations (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point, Directive CEE 93/43 which contains the guidelines regarding the hygiene in food preparation, production, storage and distribution). This is a complex system that provides the automatic validation on the achievement of the microbiological safety during the cooking process in professional and domestic ovens. Our idea consists of novel type of control able to solve the problem of safety with a high quality of cooked products.