Food Processors - Are you ready for Food Safety Program Certification / Maintenance ?

When applying / maintaining Food Safety program in a food processing plant, there are certain matters that might be overlooked by the personnels.  The followings are the matters highlighted by an experienced auditor in his audits at processing plant.  Do you overlook the followings too? Let's check it out and improve ...   

Issue 1: Ducting of air cond, air cooling system and exhaust hood were not cleaned or long time didn't cleaned.  It needs to be done as the ducting might have dead mouse, that excreting fats or any liquid in the ducting, contaminating processing plant air.   

Issue 2: Hand dryer that is never / seldom being washed.  When it dirty, it will blowing bacteria to hands.

Issue 3:  Floor dryer being used in toilet will flew up bacteria at the toilet floor. When some workers using it to dry their pants, it causes the pants is contaminated with more bacteria, bringing into processing plant, and further contaminating food.. 

Issue 4: Workers pants become a source of contamination when workers bring the pants into the toilet and continue with work after visiting toilet.  In the toilet, the pants could contacting the dirty toilet bowls and become contaminated.  Thus, it is best to wear a thorough PPE to perform work into processing plant. 

   

Issue 5: Using fan as a cooler in a processing plant.  It is because the fan does not have air filter system.  If the air is dirty, the fan will blow dirty air on the products. So, it is advisable to use cooler which have air filtering and the filter must be maintained.  

Issue 6: Foot bath could also a matter of discussion.  it is used to sanitize boots and trolly wheels.  If the footbath is not filled with Chlorine and maintaining the concentration, it will causing the boots and wheel to bring dirts and bacteria to all places, contaminating every area that workers go.  Chlorine is easily evaporated and the concentration should be monitored periodically. 

Issue 7: Studies shown that hand phone is a device that carries bacteria significantly.  When workers bring in hand phone in processing plant, toilets and so on, their hands will be contaminated with bacteria on hand phone, and further contaminating foods.   

Issue 8: Money notes are also a bacteria carrier.  Imagine, nobody is washing notes, right? So, after we touched the notes,  our hands are dirty and could contaminating food in processing. 

There may be more... let's have self check and do improve the processing hygiene before the next audits from officers.  Good luck... 

Credit : Sir Mohd Khairul Azli Sahrom