Tips for Soy Sauce Manufacturers

Food Safety Tips
Safe manufacture of soy sauce and bottle lid design

The various kinds of soy sauce available in the market are made by fermentation. They taste delicious, and are used in cooking, marinating or for dipping and can enhance the colour, aroma and flavour of foods. In 2006, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) received some 20 complaints about the presence of larvae inside bottled soy sauce. Investigation found that they were mainly the larvae of flies, and there were adult flies in some complaint articles. The smell of fermented food (including soy sauce) is especially attractive to flies. If the soy sauce is not properly covered, flies may find their way into the container and lay eggs (some species may lay larvae) in the soy sauce.

With advanced plant facilities, modernised production technique, scrupulous production process and full attention paid to personal and environmental hygiene, the presence of larvae in the manufacture of soy sauce can be effectively prevented to meet the customer need and to comply with the requirements of the legislation. In 2006, no complaint about larvae found in unopened bottled soy sauce was received by the Centre for Food Safety.

To prevent the breeding of flies in bottled soy sauce, CFS has written to soy sauce manufacturers and importers, advising them to improve the lid design of soy sauce bottles so as to make them more user-friendly, and to remind consumers, by means of product labels, to close the lid tightly and clean the bottle thoroughly after use and to store the product properly. Members of the trade should pay attention to the following advice to ensure food safety and hygiene.

Advice to soy sauce manufacturers

• Improve the technique, production process and plant facilities in the manufacturing of soy sauce with special attention to personal and environmental hygiene.
• Personnel in-charge of the plant should conduct pest survey regularly and take effective measures to prevent the breeding of pests (including flies).
• Improve the lid design of soy sauce bottles to make them more user-friendly.
• Remind consumers in the product labels, to close the lid tightly and clean the bottle thoroughly after use and to store the product properly.

Advice to the catering trade

• Close the lid tightly and clean the soy sauce bottle thoroughly after use.

Store and cover soy sauce properly after opening.

Taken from: http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fse_200701.html

Posted by: Sandy