Okuzeka
Food Science & Technology vocabulary · Food Safety and HACCP

Critical limit

Meaning in food science & technology, with examples

nounCore term

In food science & technology, critical limit means: The maximum or minimum value, such as a temperature, time or pH, that must be met at a critical control point to keep a hazard under control.

In Turkish: kritik limit, kritik sınır

How it is used

Each CCP has measurable critical limits, for example 'core temperature at least 72 °C for 2 minutes' or 'metal detector rejects the 2.0 mm ferrous test piece'. If a reading is outside the limit, the process is out of control and a corrective action starts. Many plants also set tighter operating limits.

Example sentences

  1. The critical limit for the pasteurizer is 72 °C; below that, the divert valve sends the milk back.

  2. Every time a critical limit is breached, the shift leader must fill in a deviation report.

Common collocations

  • set a critical limit
  • breach a critical limit
  • operating limit
  • outside the critical limit
  • validate critical limits
  • critical control pointA step in a process where a control can be applied and is essential to prevent, remove or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level.
  • monitorTo check or measure something regularly, such as a temperature at a CCP, and record the results so that problems are noticed and dealt with quickly.
  • corrective actionThe steps taken when something goes wrong, such as a missed critical limit or an audit finding, to deal with the affected product and stop the problem from happening again.
  • HACCPHazard Analysis and Critical Control Points: a preventive system that identifies food safety hazards and controls them at specific steps of production, based on seven principles.

More terms: Food Safety and HACCP

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: