Draft of Good Hygiene Practic e for Vacuum Packed Food 
DOH Food No.1001300563, May 6, 2011 
I. The competent authority: Department of Health (DOH), Executive Yuan 
II. Basis for the enactment: The stipulations in Item 1, Article 20 of the Act 
Governing Food Sanitation. 
III. Promulgation of “Good Hygiene Pr actice for Vacuum-Packed Foods” 
(1) This practice is applicab le to related food proprie tors of vacuum-packed, 
RTE (ready-to-eat) foods 
(2) In addition to complying with the related stipulations in this  practice, related 
food proprietors of vacu um-packed, RTE (ready-to-e at) foods shall also 
comply with the stipulations in the Good Hygiene Practice for Foods. 
(3) Related terms in this practice are defined as follows:    
1. Food Proprietor: The proprietor that operates the manufacturing, 
processing, preparing, packaging, transporting, storage, selling, input and output of foods or food additives. 
2. Vacuum-Packed Food: The food that is degassed and sealed within an hermetically sealed container. 
3. Hermetically Sealed Container: mean s a container that is designed and 
intended to be secure against the en try of microorganisms and thereby to 
maintain the commercial sterility of it s contents after pr ocessing, including 
containers made of metal, gl ass, retort pouch, plastic and 
laminated composite materials, as well as other containers conforming to the aforementioned condition. 
4. RTE (ready-to-eat) Food: The product th at can be instantly edible after 
being unsealed, with no need to be processed by any cooking step.  5. Salt Concentration: The percentage of the salt mass accounting for the 
whole solution mass.  
6. Water Activity: Water activity (aw) is a measure of the free moisture in a 
product and is the quotient of the water vapor pressure of the substance divided by the vapor pressure of pur e water at the same temperature. 
(4) Good Hygiene Practice for Vacuum-Pack ed and RTE (ready-to-eat) Foods 
Sold and Stored at Room Temperature:  
1. If such a product meets any of the following conditions, it can be stored 
and sold at room temperature. 
A. Water Activity ≦ 0.85 
B. pH value ≧ 9.0 
C. Commercially sterilized products 
D. Acid foods (natural or normal pH equal to 4.6 or below)
 
E. Fermented foods (when the pH of the food is reduced to 4.6 or less by 
the growth of acid producing microorganisms; or salt concentration ≧ 
10%)  
F. Carbonated beverages  
G. Any other condition that can inhibit Clostridium botulinum at room 
temperature.  
2. Products with the first, second, forth,  fifth conditions of above mentioned 
shall be stored and sold in accordance with their labeling. The proprietors 
shall reserve related test reports or  certification documents proved by the 
laboratories accredited by the central competent authority for reference. 
The third conditions of above men tioned shall conform to the Good 
Hygiene Practice for Canned Foods.  (5) Good Hygiene Practice for Vacuum-Packed, RTE (ready-to-eat) Foods Sold 
and Stored in Cold Storage: 
1. As for vacuum-packed, RTE (ready-to-e at) foods with water activity above 
0.85 that require cold storage, all th e processes for storing, transporting 
and selling them shall be undertaken in the status of cold storage at 7 . ℃ 
2. Shelf life of Vacuum-Packed, RTE (rea dy-to-eat) Foods in Cold Storage: 
If such a product does not meet any of the following conditions, its shelf 
life shall be within ten days. The pr oprietors shall reserve related test 
reports or certification documents proved by the laboratories accredited by the central competent authority, for reference.  
A. Added with Nitrite or Nitrate 
B. Water Activity ≦ 0.94 
C. pH value ＜ 4.6
 
D. Salt Concentration ＞ 3.5% (only applicable to smoked and fermented 
products)   
E. Any other condition that can inhibit Clostridium botulinum . 
(6) Good Hygiene Practice for Vacuum-Packed, RTE (ready-to-eat) Foods Sold and Stored in Refrigeration: All the processes for storing, transporting and selling the vacuum-packed, RTE (ready-to -eat) foods in refrigeration shall 
be undertaken in the status  of refrigeration at -18 . ℃ 
(7) Registration shall be required for vacuum-packed, RTE (r eady-to-eat) foods 
which are high-risk in botulism as determined by risk assessment.