Sanitation is a fundamental aspect of food safety, as safe food cannot be produced in the absence of hygienic conditions. Sanitation includes the methods, procedures, and chemicals used to clean food processing equipment, as well as hygienic design of facilities and equipment and food worker hygiene.
Biofilm is a colonial structure formed by microorganisms in order to survive and adapt in adverse environmental conditions. Biofilms formed by bacteria in food processing facilities can lead to transmission of disease, food contamination, spoilage of food products, and/or damage to food production surfaces.
Clean-in-place (CIP) describes systems and equipment used in food processing that can be cleaned and sanitized without being disassembled or moved. Clean-out-of-place (COP) denotes systems and equipment that must be disassembled, relocated, or specialty treated in order to clean and sanitize them.
Environmental monitoring is a process used in food processing facilities that assesses how effectively the plant is being cleaned. This typically means swabbing various surfaces for pathogens and performing a lab analysis of these samples.
Food production and processing facilities encompasses everything from processing plants to storage and warehouses to retail and foodservice outlets. It also includes the equipment used to facilitate the production, processing, transport, and distribution of food.
Food workers are tasked with ensuring the safety and quality of food during handling and preparation activities at food processing facilities and retail foodservice operations.
Food workers, especially those who prepare and/or serve food in commercial processing or retail foodservice operations, must be vigilant about personal hygiene and handwashing protocols.
Pest control focuses on preventing insects and animals from entering agricultural areas, food processing facilities, storage facilities, or food shipments in transit so that harborage points are minimized and food safety and quality are not compromised.
Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) are written procedures or programs used to maintain equipment and the facility environment in a sanitary condition for food processing, and are a fundamental part of a food safety plan.
Success can be achieved by working together to reimagine wet sanitation processes that clean effectively and efficiently while preserving assets and improving sustainability outcomes
This article discusses how Maple Leaf Foods' redesign of its wet food sanitation processes led to reduced recurring equipment damage that caused startup downtime, as well as improved sustainability, saved costs, and ensured food safety through better management of resources.
A recent study conducted by scientists from the Quadram Institute and the UK Health Security Agency has revealed that, despite cleaning, Listeria monocytogenes are able to persist in ready-to-eat (RTE) food production environments, supported by diverse bacterial populations that also remain stable over time.
Coperion FX extraction devices for rotary valves have been developed especially for applications with strict hygienic requirements in food production. The newly developed FXL system is equipped with side-mounted linear guide bars that allow the rotor to be extracted for optimal cleaning.
Understanding the structure and function of biofilms is essential for developing effective strategies to control microbial biofilm formation, mitigate biofilm-related risks, and harness the beneficial properties of biofilms for various applications.
A recent study has analyzed methods of environmental monitoring for Listeria monocytogenes in food production facilities, comparing two alternative methods against a traditional culture-based method.
Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to know and adhere to a set of rules that address food safety, basic sanitation, and safety. Plant rules for staff and visitors comprise elements of good hygiene culture and exist to minimize the potential for cross-contamination of foods, equipment, or utensils. Some of these elements have other roles, such as personal safety.
A recent study has demonstrated the protection that multispecies biofilms provide to Listeria monocytogenes against sanitizers, and could help inform more effective sanitation procedures in food processing environments.
Bürkert has launched a new range of tool-free, easy-to-service valves for the control of liquids and steam and are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in food and beverage applications.
On Demand:In this session, leaders in food manufacturing sanitation will share their experience in how to increase the efficiency and precision of sanitation programs for root-cause analysis of food safety and quality issues.
On Demand: In this webinar, technical experts will explain what a system breach is, how to manage and reduce system breaches, and how to design breaches out of a system to help prevent pathogen contamination in dry and low-moisture environments.
On-Demand:In this webinar, attendees will learn how wet sanitation can become safer and more sustainable by either redesigning or modifying the seven-step cleaning process.