Introduction: Discarding food represents a major economic, environmental, social, cultural and ethical problem. For food products, which are stored at room temperature for a certain time interval, the food safety must be confirmed by microbiological testing and sensory evaluation. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify the impact of the implementation of the Guidelines of good hygienic practices according to the principles of the HACCP system in commercial activity on decreasing the quantity of discarded food. With the help of microbiological and sensory evaluation we wanted to prove that we can extend the shelf life of the articles at room temperature in the showcase for a longer period of time, as prescribed in the law, without the risk to the health of the consumer. We wanted to find an annual volume of discarded food in the commercial chain of the bakery. Methods: We prepared baked products of the same batch, which were then stored in showcase at room temperature 15 to 20 ° C. They were tested as freshly baked and after 24 hours, and also after 48 hours after baking. Baked products were then microbiological analyzed in the internal laboratory of the company, as well as in an external accredited laboratory. Sensory evaluation of products was carried out by the six-member commission using 9-point hedonic scale for freshly baked products and products after storage at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours. Acquisition of data on food discards was done by collecting data on waste in 14 stores owned by Pekarna Pečjak d.o.o. in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016. Results: The products were acceptable and met every relevant microbiological criteria in all three time intervals of the evaluation, product type, and the resulting assessment. On the basis of sensory evaluation results, we can conclude that the freshly baked bakery products expectedly received better ratings than the products after 24 or 48 hours after baking. Discussion and conclusion: Based on the results of microbiological testing and the results of sensory evaluations, we confirmed that the storage of products with raw meat in a showcase with room temperature, through opening hours of one day of the retail shops does not pose a risk to consumer health.
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