FOOD SAFETY NEWS
With recent food safety scares for consumers in Australia, it’s important to remember that Australian food safety standards include legislated procedures for food handling, from raw ingredients through to consumption. Maintaining the safety of food requires constant vigilance by government, industry and consumers. Any company or business producing food must strictly comply with the legislation and follow an appropriate food safety plan which shows that every reasonable precaution is being taken to assure safety controls for physical, biological, and chemical risks throughout the food processing.
The food safety plan at Yakult means our manufacturing areas have strictly controlled procedures in place to ensure the product is not subject to any hazards that might compromise its safety. The plan identifies hazards and necessary risk control measures known as Critical Control Points or CCP, and determines critical limits and establishes monitoring procedures of these.
Yakult’s manufacturing ensures that product quality is continually monitored and meets the highest standards. More than 100 tests are carried out during production to ensure that each batch of Yakult is of a consistent high quality. Samples of the final bottles are checked for Lactobacillus numbers, acidity, potential contaminants and taste. Our commitment to quality extends to cold storage and transportation ensuring that the cold chain is not interrupted and the temperature in delivery vehicles is between 0-4°C.
Bacteria play important roles in many aspects of our daily life. Many are useful and help to produce foods and medicines, while others cause illness. Bacterial cultures are used to make yogurt and many of the most important antibiotics come from Streptomyces bacteria, found in soil. Yakult’s probiotic bacterium helps to balance your digestive system. Yakult contains only one strain of a probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain. A food safety risk includes consuming food or drink which has been contaminated by bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, which cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, weakness and headaches.
If you are ever experiencing symptoms of ill health, or are concerned about another person’s health, you should immediately contact your health professional.