ABSTRACT
B. Formulation In developing countries where climatic temperatures are often high, many tradi tional foods have frequently depended on a formulation that prevents bacterial growth, or at least rapid bacterial growth. Formulation of acidified foods can be a critical control point if sufficient quantities of high acid ingredients are added, and there are provisions to ensure adequate mixing and time for marinating. Formula tion can also be a critical control point for heavily salted products (e. g., salted fish), highly sugared foods (e. g., confectioneries), or dried foods (e. g., certain dried seafoods). If sufficient amounts of water are either tied up or removed, path ogenic bacteria cannot multiply, but they can survive for long durations. Amount of high acid ingredients, thorough mixing, time of marinating, characteristic sour ness, amount of moisture, and percentage salt and/or sugar potentially can be monitored by preparers and vendors, and public health personnel can perform “verification” by means of pH and water activity meters. Formulation as a critical control point, however, is limited in application by knowledge of the characteris tics of the food in question and applicable monitoring and verification procedures using calibrated and applicable monitoring equipment.
