1. Meat products eligible for export from Italy to the United States:
CONTROL OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN READY-TO-EAT MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS
Meat products eligible for export from Italy to the United States:
Compliance with the requirements of 9CFR§430
Dott. Marco Pierantoni
Regione Emilia Romagna
Servizio Veterinario e Igiene Alimenti

2. Prodotti esportati negli USA
e alternative per la gestione di Listeria m. proposte alle autorità USA nel corso della videoconferenza del 12 febbraio 2004

3. HAMS DRY-CURED for at least 400 days (Parma HAM, San Daniele HAM, OTHERS)
· Product description: pork leg salted and dried. The final product can be:
“bone-in”;
“boneless” (if the bone is removed at the end of the production process and before shipping);
“sliced” (if the bone is removed at the end of the process and the boneless ham is then sliced)
·Ingredients: pork meat, salt, nitrates (only for other hams)
· Processing method: reception, selection, first and second salting, resting, washing, pre-aging, final aging. Possibly also deboning and slicing;

4. HAMS DRY-CURED for at least 400 days (Parma HAM, San Daniele HAM, OTHERS)
· Storage conditions:
“bone-in”: shelf-stable; normally not packaged.
“boneless”: not shelf-stable; vacuum-packaged; must be kept refrigerated.
“sliced” : not shelf-stable; packed in modified atmosphere or vacuum-packaged; must be kept refrigerated.
· Handling: the product, after removing the skin and any dried-out areas on the surface, must to be sliced before eating.

5. HAMS DRY-CURED for at least 400 days (Parma HAM, San Daniele HAM, OTHERS)
CONSIDERATIONS ON THE APPLICATION OF 9CFR§430 ON DRY-CURED HAMS
The final product (bone-in, boneless or sliced), which is cured for at least 400 days, normally has a Water Activity (aw) value < .92. This condition is known to inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes. We consider this natural property equivalent to an antimicrobial agent or a growth inhibitor added to the product.

6. HAMS DRY-CURED for at least 400 days (Parma HAM, San Daniele HAM, OTHERS)
Alternative 1:
This alternative can be chosen by establishments producing boneless or sliced ham with an aw < .92 and that use a valid high hydrostatic pressure processing method after the product has been vacuum-packaged.
Alternative 2:
This alternative can be chosen by establishments producing bone-in, boneless or sliced ham, provided that the aw value of the final product is < .92.
Alternative 3:
This alternative can be chosen by establishments producing dry cured ham with aw > .92.

7. Cooked products COTECHINO
Product description: Cotechino that is eligible for export to the United States is a fully-sterilized pork product.
Ingredients: Pork meat, pork fat and pork skin are ground and then combined with different ingredients and additives, included sodium or potassium nitrite.
Processing method : The ingredients are mixed and then stuffed into a synthetic casing. The casing is then vacuum-packed and sealed in a container with a polyethylene interior and an aluminum exterior. The product is subsequently sterilized in an autoclave, where it is steam–heated. The following requirements must be certified to export cotechino from Italy to the Unites States and appear on the official health certificate:

8. Cooked products COTECHINO
The meat product has been fully cooked by a commercial method in a container hermetically sealed promptly after filling, but before such cooking, so that such cooking and sealing produced a fully sterilized product, which is shelf-stable without refrigeration. The sterilization process reaches a heat-treatment equivalent to Fo=3 minutes (F10, 121,1) in the product's most vulnerable point.
The product is then cooled and stored.
Storage conditions : Shelf-stable.
Handling : Cotechino must to be cooked before consumption.

9. Cooked products COTECHINO
Considerations on the application of 9 CFR§430 : Not applicable
Cotechino is not a ready-to-eat product (it must to be cooked before consumption) nor it has been exposed after receiving the lethality treatment.

10. Cooked products “COOK-IN” WHOLE COOKED HAMS
Product description: only whole cooked hams -- not sliced or in pieces --are eligible for export from Italy to the United States. “Cook-in” means that the product has been cooked in a container hermetically-sealed promptly after filling, but before the cooking process.
Ingredients: Pork meat, different ingredients and additives, included sodium or potassium nitrite.
Processing method: The deboned pork leg is injected with the brine containing the additives and other ingredients. Tumbling, pressing, shaping, and “cook-in” are the ensuing steps. After the “cook-in” process the product is cooled and stored.

11. Cooked products “COOK-IN” WHOLE COOKED HAMS
Storage conditions: Not shelf-stable – vacuum-packed – must be kept refrigerated.
Handling : after removing packaging, cooked ham must be sliced before eating.
Considerations on the application of 9 CFR 430 : Not applicable.
“Cook-in” whole cooked hams are not exposed after the lethality treatment (no recontamination is possible).

12. Cooked products “ITALIAN-STYLE” WHOLE COOKED HAMS
Product description: only whole cooked hams -- not sliced or in pieces -- are eligible for export from Italy to the United States. After the cooking the “Italian-style” ham, cooled and vacuum-packed in aluminum bags, is pasteurized by means of a thermal treatment in a sterilizer. The product is then cooled and refrigerated.
Ingredients: Pork meat, different ingredients and additives, included sodium or potassium nitrite.

13. Cooked products “ITALIAN-STYLE” WHOLE COOKED HAMS
Processing method : The deboned pork legs are injected with the brine containing the additives and other ingredients. The next steps are: tumbling, pressing, shaping, cooking, repressing, cooling, removal from press (with exposure of the product), dressing, wrapping, surface pasteurization, cooling and storage.
Storage conditions: Not shelf-stable – vacuum-packed – must be stored refrigerated.
Handling : after removing vacuum-packaging cooked ham must be sliced before eating.

14. Cooked products “ITALIAN-STYLE” WHOLE COOKED HAMS
Considerations on the application of 9CFR§430 :
We request that “Italian-style” cooked ham be exempted from the regulations in those cases when the surface pasteurization constitutes an actual lethality treatment (five logarithmic reductions, with companies required to demonstrare the effectiveness of the treatment against Listeria). Under this scenario, the regulations would no longer apply, since the product would not be again be exposed to the environment after receiving this treatment.
In those cases where the surface pasteurization is unable to guarantee at least five logarithmic reductions, the regulations would apply and companies would have the following alternatives:

15. Cooked products “ITALIAN-STYLE” WHOLE COOKED HAMS
Alternative 1: a post-lethality treatment that guarantees at least two logarithmic reductions (for example, a heat treatment or a high-pressure treatment) and the addition of antimicrobial agents as ingredients (for example, sodium lactate);
Alternative 2: just a post-lethality treatment that guarantees at least two logarithmic reductions (for example, a heat treatment or a high-pressure treatment);
for “Italian-Style” cooked hams, alternative 2 limited to the use of only antimicrobial agents and alternative 3 are not applicable because product shipped to the U.S. is always pasteurized.

16. Cooked products MORTADELLA
Product description: Mortadella is a cooked, ground pork meat product. The lean part of mortadella is made primarily from pork shoulder, as well as small hunks from the belly and haunch. The fatty part consists of pig fat derived from the throat and/or back.
Ingredients: Pork meat, pork fat mixed with different ingredients and additives, including sodium or potassium nitrite.

17. Cooked products MORTADELLA
Processing method : The mix is then inserted into casings, which can be natural or synthetic. Mortadella is then cooked in dry air ovens, which leads to longer cooking times than steam ovens. The following requirements must be certified to export cotechino from Italy to the Unites States and appear on the official health certificate:
The meat products have received continual heat- treatment in an oven for a minimum of 10 hours in order to reach an internal temperature of 156 degrees F (69 degrees C) throughout. The oven temperature started at a minimum of degrees F (62°degrees C) and reached at least degrees F (85 degrees C )

18. Cooked products MORTADELLA
Upon completion of the cooking phase, mortadella is water-cooled for about one hour and then placed in ventilated rooms for 24 hours at temperatures of between 0 C and 4 C. Mortadella may be halved for commercial purposes.
Storage conditions: The product is then packaged and stored. Mortadella must be kept refrigerated.
Handling: after removing inedible casing, mortadella must be sliced before eating.

19. Cooked products MORTADELLA
Considerations on application of 9CFR§430 :
We request that mortadella that is sold whole be exempted from the regulations, since it receives a heat-treatment that is lethal to Listeria. This is because the product is cooked within an inedible casing that must be removed prior to consumption. The edible part of the product is thus not susceptible to being contaminated. This is true even if the product is packaged subsequently to having received the heat treatment.

20. Cooked products MORTADELLA
For mortadella that is not packaged whole we suggest the following alternatives:
Alternative 1: a post-lethality treatment that guarantees at least two logarithmic reductions (for example, a heat treatment or a high-pressure treatment) and the addition of antimicrobial agents as ingredients (for example, sodium lactate);

21. Cooked products MORTADELLA
Alternative 2a): a post-lethality treatment that guarantees at least two logarithmic reductions (for example, a heat treatment or a high-pressure treatment);
Alternative 2b): just the addition of antimicrobial agents as ingredients (for example, sodium lactate);
Alternative 3 : sanitation measures only.