chembake wrote:

>> Indeed past experience confirm that you can ge the dairy rich
>> decorated cake and when done just allowing it to stand in
>> ambient overnight...
>
>>I don't understand this

> That is reasonable You had never been a baker but presumably just
> academician

I'm a chef with 30 years of experience, including pastry. I
meant I didn't understand the sentence.

> .....therrefore you never had first hand experience in cases where
> occasional violations of HACCP rules works...

I had my first restaurant job in the early 1950's when I was in grammar
school. I started my first restaurant in 1974 and have owned several
others since; I've run country club and resort operations, and consulted
about all phases of foodservice. I'm also a published food writer.

>> Pickles are a good example of foods with high water activity that
>> can safely be stored at room temp. The combinations of pH, water
>> activity, preservatives and processing are the determinants.
>
> Pickes?....bakers and pastry cooks don't deal with such items.... .

Understood. But for room temp storage, it's not just water activity that
matters, even for pastry. Cheeses and eggs provide opportunity for
bacterial and mold growths, for example.

Fruit curd fillings generally have a reasonably low water activity and
low pH, but molds can grow on them rather quickly.

> Normally bakers don't add any preservatives in cake icings nor have
> to use most of the time high processing temperatures..(for example
> in boiled icings) Its common for these tradesmen to make icings at
> room temperatures... In addition to that pH is not an issue with cake
> frosting materials either

I agree with all these clarifications, but the simple rule of just being
concerned with water activity is misleading. Filled breads and pastries
use other foods that can support both spoilage and pathogenic bacteria
and molds. I'm saying that we should be careful with all of them.

Pastorio