2014 Technical Presentation: ASTA Webinar Series on Validation of Microbial Reduction Processes III - Interventions to Control Microorganisms in Spices

Microbiology of Spices is a four-part series that is now available for companies to supplement employee training on Salmonella and other pathogens. Participants in the original live series recommend it for your employees in purchasing, product development, and processing to gain a better understanding of why spices can be contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella, the challenges of testing, mitigation strategies, and the importance of verification and validation. The series features Dr. James Dickson of Iowa State University, who provides scientific information to those without a science background. All employees in the spice industry have a role in food safety. This series will ensure a better understanding of the importance of strategies to ensure clean, safe spice. Part III – Interventions to Control Microorganisms in Spices is a 45-minute session that will provide an overview of existing microbial reduction technologies, including the advantages and disadvantages of each. Participants will also learn the expectations that FDA has for process validation and look at key issues in the supply chain, including critical control points.

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Related Resources

Webinar on ASTA Guidance on Science-Based Groupings to Optimize Validation of Spice Process Controls

Food Safety Validation
5/10/2022

Under the Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation, manufacturers of ready-to-eat spices must have validated process controls to ensure that Salmonella and other known pathogens are effectively controlled. Since it is typically resource-prohibitive and redundant to run a validation study on every single product produced by a spice company, ASTA has assisted its members in developing a science-based approach to validation that involves conducting a study on a representative product of a group of spices, rather than every different commodity. The updated ASTA Guidance on Science-Based Groupings and Report on Microbial Inhibition of E. Faecium, along with this webinar, will provide an update on the ASTA guidance and scientific evidence regarding validation for spices. The presenters, Jim Dickson, Iowa State University and Maile Hermida, Hogan Lovells, and ASTA General Counsel, explore the latest scientific evidence on key factors for selecting a representative “worse case” scenario for groupings and the impact of microbial inhabitation on validations. The webinar included a review of the regulatory requirements related to validation and an overview of the ASTA resources that have been developed on this topic. ASTA previously offered the ASTA Webinar Series on Validation of Microbial Reduction Processes and published a White Paper on Process Validation. During ASTA Online in 2020, the FDA presented Validation Information for Spice Companies. Then, during ASTA Online 2021, there was a Panel Discussion on Science-Based Groupings for Spice Validations. Registrants of this webinar will get access to all of these resources in advance of the session.

2019 Regulatory Presentation: Case Study - Dehydrated Garlic Validation on Salmonella Control

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This presentation was provided at the 2019 Regulatory Workshop. The presenter, Scott Klinger, Director of Quality Assurance/Technical Services at BCFoods, presented a case study on dehydrated garlic validation effects on Salmonella control. It included information on dehydrated garlic global usage, main growing areas, garlic season, background of micro profile of dehydrated garlic, validation steps for study on garlic, results of study, and references.