We’re not just upcycling otherwise wasted food for any purpose, we strive to feed more people with it, which means food safety has to be a core focus.
Food safety refers to the steps taken in the handling, preparation and storage of food which are meant to prevent foodborne illness and any form of injury. It is critical that as the highly nutritious, rescued fresh fruits and vegetables are processed in our BioTrim units, the finished product is safe for human consumption.
The Government of Canada website The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations are here – Canadian Food Inspection Agency (canada.ca) states that “On January 15, 2019, a new era of food safety in Canada began when the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) came into force. The SFCR makes Canada’s food system even safer by focusing on prevention and allowing for faster removal of unsafe food from the marketplace.” Ensuring that consumers get a product which is free from harmful substances is not only the law, but our responsibility to our fellow humans.
BioTrim BT80 Food Safety Measures
Now how does Trendi plan on achieving this? Trendi has developed a food safety plan for its mobile BioTrim units guided by the seven HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) principles. As with all things science, HACCP is a systematic approach which needs to be well documented. Efficient and accurate record keeping is essential in implementing the HACCP system. Included in Trendi’s food safety plan is the hazard analysis of each processing step in the mobile BioTrim unit, determination of the critical control point, establishing monitoring procedures, identification of corrective actions, establishing verification procedures and establishing procedures for record keeping and documentation.
But let’s get past the boring technical jargon. Walking into the mobile biotrim unit, there is a high-tech contactless sanitation station with a sensor to detect motion and will wash and sanitize your hands for 12 seconds. Space-age way of getting your hands clean? Definitely.
Moving beyond that, the critical control point (CCP) is an automated sanitization machine, which runs fruits or vegetables through a conveyor belt into a chamber to destroy or reduce pathogens to an acceptable level. It uses hydrogen peroxide, ozone and UV to do this, and in doing so, ensures that the product is safe for consumption.
Besides the equipment being used, there are procedures in place to clean and sanitize the mobile BioTrim unit. This ensures that the processing environment does not contaminate the raw material, in-process and finished product.
This also means that the operators are key in implementing and enforcing food safety principles during processing. Appropriate protective wear and following good manufacturing practices will have a great impact on the finished product.
Consumer behaviour has changed tremendously over the years, peoples’ perceptions and behaviors on food-related issues, including sustainability, food security, and their diets has shifted. Trendi is committed to providing upcycled, shelf-stable ingredients made from fruits and vegetables which are safe, delicious, and nutritious.
Article written by:
Precious Chigumo, Food Scientist and Food Safety Specialist
Precious is passionate about cultivating a world where zero food waste is the norm. Her extensive background in food science and technology has helped her move towards this goal and provided a variety of practical solutions she can implement to help achieve this – especially through her work at Trendi.
