Annex

Retorted products

1. Animal products have been retorted if they have been heated in a hermetically sealed container to a minimum core temperature of 100°C, obtaining an F0 value of at least 2.8.
2. Goods (other than animal products) have been retorted if they have been heated in a hermetically-sealed container for a time, and to a temperature, sufficient to make the contents commercially sterile.

Retorting
Retorting refers to the process of cooking canned food or food in a retort pouch after it has been sealed in the container. The packages either go through a continuous retort (i.e. continually moving conveyor system) or may be cooked in a batch retort (i.e. big sealed pressure cooker). Many different types of food may be canned and retorted e.g. Canned fruit and vegetables, canned meals (e.g. Irish stew), canned soups, retort pouches of tuna, etc.
Note: Retort pouches are distinct from vacuum packs.

Hermetically sealed

A package is hermetically sealed if it is “airtight” e.g. Heat sealed plastic bag, sealed can or glass jar with screw cap. Hermetically sealed goods may also be heat treated but ‘hermetically sealed’ is not the same as ‘canned’ or ‘retorted’. Many foods are packed in hermetically sealed containers, but do not undergo heat treatments in that package. These foods cannot be treated as retorted foods as they may not be sterile. Examples of such foods are milk powders, Milo and some types of cheeses.

Retort pouches/packaging

A retort pouch/package is a lightweight, flexible container or pouch in which foods are heated and sterilised. Retort pouches generally have the following features:

1. Manufactured from laminated polyester, nylon and/or aluminium. The polyester and nylon films usually have a layer of aluminium foil between them.
2. Material used for manufacture of retort pouches may be thicker than the polyethylene used for vacuum pouches.
3. Soft and flexible to touch.
4. Do not require special storage conditions to maintain product quality e.g. refrigeration to maintain food quality prior to opening i.e. are shelf stable.

Vacuum packaging (e.g. corvac or cryovac)

Vacuum packaging refers to food that is packaged in heat sealed polyethylene bags, from which the air has been removed prior to sealing. ‘Vacuum packaging’ is not the same as ‘retort packaging’. Features of vacuum packaging include:

1. Generally constructed of transparent nylon or polythene in varying thicknesses (no aluminium foil).
2. Soft plastic and wrinkled appearance due to the bag clinging to the product as there is no air inside the bag.
3. Some vacuum packaged foods require special storage conditions to maintain product quality e.g. vacuum packaged meat or fish require refrigeration, i.e. are not shelf stable.
4. Some vacuum packaged foods do not require special storage conditions to maintain product quality e.g. ground coffee, nuts.
   

Shelf stable

Goods are shelf-stable if:

1. the goods have been commercially manufactured; and
2. the goods have been packaged by the manufacturer; and
3. the goods are in that package; and
4. the package has not been opened or broken; and
5. the goods are able to be stored in the package at room or ambient temperature; and
6. the goods do not require refrigeration or freezing before the package is opened.

*Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) defines shelf stable as non-perishable food with a shelf life of many months to years.

Aseptic processed and packaged
Aseptic processing and packaging refers to the processing and packaging of a commercially sterile product into sterilised containers followed by hermetically sealing with a sterilised closure in a manner which prevents viable microbiological recontamination of the sterile product. Aseptic processing and packaging differs from canning in that in canning the food is placed in the can, sealed and heat processed in that order.