Smoking as a preservative
 

Another good question, thank you Phil.

Just spoke with our health dept inspector on this one.
Kind of a toughie.
She said she wouldn't look at a smoked roast any different than a baked one as far as shelf life goes.
But she did go as far to say that the HACCP (Hazard analysis critical control point) people would have to submit proof for this thought that smoked meat lasts longer and (she) wasn't sure of any study.
They would have to look at water activity, and bacterial criteria as well as a number of other scientific data to prove this.

She said that they recently did a study concerning sandwiches packaged in those environment containers, and they proved a shelf life of something like 28 days. That's why you can see sandwiches at the gas station with rather old dates.

Currently the health dept says cooked meats have a refrigerator shelf life of seven days.

But we all know better!:wink:

Good lord! Seven days?!?!?!:shock: No thanks! Stuff should be green by then.

bigabyte, you need a new fridge:mrgreen:

Smoking as a Preservative
 

If your "health Department inspector" does not understand smoking's role as a preservative, then the problem is with her education, not with the process. It goes without saying(sic) that smoking is a preservative.
Country hams, hung with out refrigeration for years? duh!!!

Would she also not accept a piece of pork, cured in a heavy salt brine, in a big barrel, for a long while (pickled, in other words), unless it was coolered?

Sorry, I cannot vouch for the extent of her knowledge, only for the info I can get from her. Remember, I did not put her in charge, but am forced to abide by her thoughts and decisions.
I also do not believe her to be the end all be all, but........

If anyone has good solid info on this topic, I'm sure we would all like to see it!

I would think there'd be a difference between cold and hot smoked... cold smoked would change the water content, too, which could make results of testing show that it's got a longer shelf life.

Joe, I would bet that a lot of food related issues come down to what they HD tells you, not whether or not it's true.... You want to keep your doors open, you do what they say with things like mayo, shelf life of meat, etc. Truth sometimes has little to do with it. :) (really, better safe than sorry)

That's what I'm saying.
I'm sure there has to be some detailed documentation out there. I'm going to search as well.

Here is some fda info on smoking. Not real helpful yet.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets...ltry/index.asp

Smoked meats are preserved by three things. First the salts, second the degree to which they have been dehydrated and third the antibacterial properties of the smoke and soot itself.

Nitrites and Nitrates can be added to prevent botulism and keep meat red. Remember that what we do is Barbecue, Smoking for preservation is actually even lower temps and draws out more moisture, and is usually followed by an air curing/drying stage.