AIB International has successfully completed a first-of-its-kind research study to validate the kill step for baked products. Out of this research, AIB and its partners have created a Baking Process Kill Step Calculator for hamburger buns. This tool enables bakeries of all sizes to meet new requirements that are part of FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) without having to invest in costly microbiological challenge studies.

The Baking Process Kill Step Calculator uses an oven’s time and temperature parameters and automatically determines the total process lethality (e.g., 5 log) for Salmonella. Generated reports can be used as guidance and as supporting documentation for FSMA’s validation and verification process. The first generation of this research (related to hamburger buns) is now publically available, and AIB International is working on calculators for other bakery products with varying levels of moisture, pH, fat content, etc. By early 2016, calculators for muffins, whole grain pan bread, and cookies will be available.

Webcast attendees will learn about how AIB International and its partners validated the kill step in baked products, how this is related to new FSMA requirements, how the research protocol can be applied in the bakery, and how the calculator works. Future research efforts will also be discussed.

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