Bakery kill-step validation to comply with FSMA is easy with the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System from Reading Thermal. Our state-of-the-art data logging equipment will validate your baking process and ensure that your kill-step is scientifically confirmed.
Reading Thermal, a Reading Bakery Systems brand, has been studying the commercial baking process for 25+ years. Our SCORPION® 2 Data Logging Measurement System measures and maps the critical baking parameters of temperature, air velocity, heat flux, and humidity.
The SCORPION® 2 helps you monitor actual in-process conditions and obtain the critical information you need to maintain optimum process control and correct any problems. This powerful diagnostic tool is an industry-standard for understanding and improving your proofing, baking, cooling, and freezing processes, and for FSMA kill-step validation.
Kill-Step Validation
The FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires commercial bakeries to provide scientific validation of process controls (thermal kill steps) in order to reduce foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella spp., in both ingredients and finished products. Identifying and controlling internal food temperature is essential.
Fermentation, moisture evaporation, product swelling, flavor development, and surface coloring are all time- and temperature-dependent. Consequently, product level temperature can make the difference between optimal quality and throughput – and wasteful, under-baked or burnt product.
The SCORPION® 2 Temperature Sensor Array measures the temperature at product level, in fixed positions across the conveyor, and delivers an accurate representation of what your product is experiencing over time.
The design has pluggable thermocouple pairs that are equally spaced across the length of a bar that is the same width as the oven band. The number of sensor pairs will vary with the length of the bar/conveyor width.
There are two types of pluggable temperature sensors:
- Type A: This is an Air/Conveyor sensor designed to measure air temperature immediately above the conveyor, and the surface temperature of the conveyor itself. It is designed for solid or tight mesh conveyors. One thermocouple in each pair measures air temperature; the other is spring-loaded down onto the conveyor surface.
- Type B: This is an Air/Air sensor that measures upper air temperature immediately above the conveyor, and the temperature of the lower air that is rising through the conveyor. It is designed for open mesh conveyors. The upper and lower thermocouples are separated by a thin shield.
Next, use SCORPION® Software (SV8) Food Safety Module to understand the data collected from the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger and analyze the results. The Food Safety Module simplifies the lethality calculation and generates a comprehensive report displaying cumulative log reduction.
By combining this ease of measurement with robust data capture, bakeries can optimize their processes and meet food safety standards. Also, once you have invested in the full-featured SCORPION® 2 Data Logger, you can add smart sensors at any time to explore other oven variables.
Innovative Reading Thermal equipment can help you bake your products to perfection and achieve bakery kill-step validation in order to comply with FSMA preventive controls requirements. Contact us online, or get in touch with us at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2 to learn more about our cutting-edge products.