Ethnic and Specialty Foods in
North Carolina
How do I approach them?
By John E. Rushing, Ph.D., NCSU
How do you evaluate a food
product?
Let’s call these unconventional
foods, “Specialty Foods”
Some New Ethnic Food
Restaurants in Cary
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Mexican
Italian
Indian
Central American
Chinese
Japanese
Bolivian
Korean
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British
Irish
Peruvian
Other Hispanic
Pakistani
Ethiopian
German
Other African
Specialty Foods
Ethnic foods commonly are in this
category
 Usually refers to those foods which are
not represented by major commodities
 May use any or a combination of
preservation techniques
 Usually consist of many different
ingredients in combination
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Some Characteristics of Specialty
Foods
Tend to be upscale or gourmet
 Often preserved by acidity, or low Aw
 Often sold in specialty shops along with
being sold in grocery stores
 Because they are more expensive, they
may be “slow movers”
 Are an attractive category to
entrepreneurs
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NCState
Some Types of Specialty Foods
Sauces and marinades
 Pickled products
 High end baked products
 Some frozen foods
 Foods for special diets
 May include dietary supplements
 Foods from certain ethnic groups
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NCState
Food Safety Concerns for
Specialty Foods
Produced by knowledgeable persons
within the limits of regulations
 Acidified foods must have been properly
acidified
 Terminal heat treatments
 Proper packaging and protection from
spoilage
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NCState
Major Food Preservation
Methods
Fermenting to achieve a low pH
 Temperature modification
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 Refrigeration
 Freezing
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Canning
 Retorting
and other sterilization processes
 Acidifying
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Water activity control
Fermenting
Uses microorganisms to produce acid
from sugars
 Organisms may also produce other
antimicrobial compounds
 Acids will inhibit the outgrowth of
bacterial spores
 The pH is usually well below 4
 Some foods are naturally acid
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Refrigerated Foods
Refrigerated food pathogens are on the
rise
 Refrigerated foods should be kept below
40F and as close to 32 as possible
 Refrigeration should be used with other
hurdles, such as thermal treatments,
hygienic packaging, and preservatives
 Discard or use refrigerated products
soon
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NCState
Acid and Acidified Foods
These foods depend on acids to prevent
the growth and toxin production by
Clostridium botulinum
 Acid foods are naturally acid, such as
fruits
 Acidified foods are low acid foods to
which acids or acid foods are added to
achieve a final equilibrium pH of 4.6 or
below
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NCState
Acidified Foods
Are low-acid foods to which an acid or
an acid food has been added to produce
a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below
 “Low-acid foods” are those foods which
have a natural pH of above 4.6
 Are regulated under 21 CFR 114
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21 CFR 114-Acidified Foods
Requires that a food plant be registered
under part 108
 Requires filing and adhering to a
scheduled process
 Requires that the scheduled process be
determined by a process authority
 Requires that adherence to the process
be supervised by a certified supervisor
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NCState
Which are not Acidified Foods?
Fermented foods, naturally acid foods,
carbonated beverages, jams, jellies and
certain salad dressings are not covered
by the regulation
 Foods which have a water activity of .85
or less are not covered
 Foods with insignificant amounts of lowacid ingredients are not covered
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Safety Concerns for Acid and
Acidified Foods
Finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below
 Adequate buffering capacity to prevent
rapid swings in pH
 Thermal destruction of pathogens and
organisms capable of growing in and
spoiling the food
 Protecting the food from
recontamination
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NCState
Barriers to Achieving Acidity
Inadequate acid in the cover brine to
overcome buffering capacity of the food
 Presence of alkaline compounds from
peeling or other processing aids
 Peels, waxing, or piece size
 Oil in the product causing a barrier to
penetration of the acid
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NCState
Processing Acidified Foods
Hot fill and hold requires filling at 180F,
capping and inverting
 Many products are pasteurized by
processing in the jar to achieve the
required thermal process
 Some products use a steam capper to
eliminate the need for inverting
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Acid and Acidified Foods
Processed Without Heating
Many specialty products do not receive
a terminal heat treatment
 New concerns raised by the finding of
acid tolerance response in certain
bacteria
 Salmonella may survive as low as pH
3.0
 In apple cider outbreaks, E.coli 0157:H7
survived pH 3.7
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NCState
Spoilage of Acidified Foods
Usually by yeasts and molds
 Yeasts and molds are killed by
pasteurization temperatures
 Spoilage is from underprocessing or
post processing contamination
 Benzoates and sorbates are used to
inhibit yeasts and molds
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Foods With No Thermal
Treatment
The pH should be below 3
 Should be supplemented by
preservatives such as sodium benzoate
or potassium sorbate at 0.1%
 May be kept refrigerated
 Even though growth of pathogens is not
a concern at low pH, survival is
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NCState
FDA Rule for Juice Products
Portions of the juice industry are arguing
for only a mandated HACCP plan
 FDA’s advisory panel and consumer
groups recommend a 5D thermal
process
 The controversy may extend to other
raw food products
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NCState
Foods With Reduced Water
Activity
Water activity (Aw) is not the same as
moisture level
 Think of Aw as the availability of water to
bacteria in the food
 At 0.85, hardy pathogens such as
Staphylococcus will not grow and
produce toxin
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NCState
Some Important Aw Levels for
Bacteria
0.98 Optimum growth of most
microorganisms in foods
 0.97 and below, Gram positives tend to
predominate
 0.94 Limit of growth for Clostridium
botulinum
 0.86 Limit of growth for Staphylococcus
aureus
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NCState
Limit of Growth for Molds and
Yeasts
Yeasts
 0.90 Saccharomyces cerevisiae
 0.62 Saccharomyces rouxii
 Molds
 0.93 Rhizopus nigricans
 0.77 Aspergillus niger
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NCState
Concerns for Low Aw Foods
Aw is difficult to measure, and must be
maintained by packaging
 Yeasts and molds must be inhibited in
intermediate moisture foods
 Sorbate and propionate are preferred
inhibitors
 Hygiene is important as organisms are
not necessarily killed without a thermal
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process
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Safety in Low Aw Foods
Measure the Aw or refrigerate
 Don’t vary the formulas for baked goods
without refrigeration
 Protect the food from moist conditions:
some dehydrated foods are very
hygroscopic
 Use Aw effectively to make flavored and
herbal oils
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NCState
Herbal Foods
Botanicals must be correctly identified
 Be sure that the herb is a food and that
you are using the proper part or
preparation
 Herbs are to be produced under proper
agronomic conditions
 Use dried herbs in formulations with oil
or properly acidify them first
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NCState
Dietary Supplements and
Nutriceuticals
Dietary Supplement and Health Act of
1984 defines dietary supplements
 Dietary supplements are not foods and
cannot be represented for use as a sole
item of a meal or of a diet
 Deemed a food, but excluded from food
additive safety and approval
requirements when properly labeled
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NCState
Temperature Modification
Refrigeration increases the lag time for
the growth of microorganisms
 Freezing inhibits the growth of
microorganisms by tying up the water
 Harmful organisms may survive
refrigeration and freezing
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Water Activity Control
Drying removes water from the system
to inhibit growth of microorganisms
 Salting and sugaring tie water up to
make it unavailable to the
microorganism
 A combination of drying and salting and
sugaring can be used to produce an
intermediate moisture food
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