Tahina's low moisture stops bacteria from growing — but Salmonella does not need to grow. Introduced once, it survives for months and infects at tiny doses, which is why tahina and halva have caused documented international outbreaks. In this industry, the roast is not a flavour step; it is the kill step, and it must be proven.
Why the Roast Must Be Validated
The guideline treats roasting as a lethality step with formal validation, inside a plant zoned to keep the roasted side dry and protected. Around it sit the hazards that define sesame: ethylene oxide residues, aflatoxin and lead limits, allergen status — and for halva, the whipping material and permitted additions with compositional criteria.
What the AGS Tahina & Halva Guideline Covers
Fifty-four chapters and six annexes aligned with Codex CXC 75-2015 and ISO 22000:
- The Salmonella control strategy for low-moisture foods
- Peeling, husk separation and roasting of the sesame
- Validation of the roast as a lethality step
- Milling, storage and tests of the tahina
- The tahini halva — whipping material and permitted additions
- Dry cleaning and the low-moisture discipline, with zoning tables
Annex B tabulates the process and its distinctive requirements, the compositional criteria for tahini halva and the zoning of the establishment; Annex C provides the establishment inspection checklist; Annex D keeps dry cleaning as the default on the roasted side with wet cleaning as the controlled exception; and Annexes E and F supply the Codex/ISO 22000 conformance map and jurisdictional adaptation register.
Who It Helps
Tahina and halva manufacturers, sesame processors, QA and food safety teams, and inspectors of low-moisture ready-to-eat factories. Producers seeking export approval will find the validation framework ready-made.
Get the Guideline
Download the Tahina and Tahini Halva Factories guideline from AGS — instant delivery, fully editable Microsoft Word, ready to prove your kill step before anyone asks. Because it arrives as a Word document rather than a locked PDF, you can add your logo, adjust values to your jurisdiction and issue it as a controlled document within your own management system — no retyping, no reformatting.
Product: Tahina and Tahini Halva Factories — available as an instant-download, fully editable package from AGS (SKU AGS-03-033).