The newest addition to the product profiles for AIB International’s catalog of baking process kill step calculators now includes nut muffins. This calculator, along with kill step validation consulting services, are empowering bakeries to validate their food safety preventive controls and accurately evaluate Salmonella destruction in bakery products.

The FDA’s Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) requires validation and verification of thermal processes to ensure product safety. “The food industry has long believed that all biological organisms like yeast or pathogens are killed in the oven, and critical product quality attributes are achieved,” says Lakshmikantha Channaiah, microbiology director at AIB International. “Under FSMA, the FDA is requiring proof of that theory; however, prior to AIB’s latest contribution, there was not publically available research to use as foundational scientific validation.”

The interactive calculator works by using the oven time and temperature parameters to automatically determine the total process lethality (e.g., 5 log) for Salmonella. If the desired log reduction is achieved for the baking process and pathogen of concern, the generated report can be used as guidance and supporting documentation for FSMA’s validation and verification process.