Plant contamination is a serious concern for all food processors. Bacterial contamination can come from several sources. Bacteria may enter on workers’ hands, clothing, and shoes. Workers may be ill or have cuts, burns, or other injuries that have infectious potential. Unauthorized personnel and visitors may not comply with sanitary requirements. Plants can take some steps, some simple and some complicated, to control risk.
- Install key card readers on doors entering production areas.
- Implement hygiene controls between raw and processed product to prevent recontamination.
- Control shoes and PPE to prevent contaminants from the environment from entering production areas.
- Eliminate leaks and areas where water stands. Avoid discharging liquids to floor during regular production operations; instead, pipe discharges to properly sized drains. A dry plant is a clean plant.
- Design sanitation and the flow of personnel into the facility. Barriers must exist between areas of increasing cleanliness. For example, there a barrier is required between raw milk reception and areas where pasteurized milk is present. A hand washing station and boot change area should be located at the passage point.
- Train employees on cleaning and sanitation requirements and establish results-based accountability for workers and management.
- Audit production and sanitation operations and continuously improve.
Since recalls are expensive, SOPs alone are not the answer. In 2015, listeria at Blue Bell production facility resulted in a plant closure followed by layoffs and a criminal investigation. In 2018, listeria concerns resulted in a peanut butter recall. Also in 2018, Working Cow launched an ice cream recall due to listeria contamination that affected more than 150 retail outlets. There are many more to find.
If you have questions about your operations, or just want a second set of skilled eyes to provide reassurance, we can help. Our engineers can examine your production processes and help you reduce contamination risk. If you have a project in the works, we can review the design and provide peer review at a low cost. Contact us to get started.