Clean Up Your Act

With news of foodborne outbreaks surfacing practically every week, frantic searches for the culprits often boil down to one issue: cleanliness.

According to Jim Mann, founder of Handwashing For Life and the Handwashing Leadership Forum, “Poor hand hygiene is the most frequently mentioned contributing factor in outbreak reporting” (see “A Recipe for Hand Hygiene Process Control,” page 14). But beyond personal hygiene, sanitizing ingredients and equipment is a priority.

“As food travels from the environment to the consumer, it can become contaminated by many factors along the way,” pointed out Tyler Mattson, who describes the benefits of gaseous chlorine dioxide in removing pathogens from processing areas (see “Chlorine Clean,” page 36).

Furthermore, “intervention biocides can affect food safety from harvest through production,” said Charles Giambrone (see “Multiply Your Meat and Poultry Attack, page 29). He demonstrates how peracetic acid and acidified sodium chlorite solutions have progressed in the sanitation of meat and poultry.

The message is clear: Effective, consistent sanitation is the first step toward preventing consumer illnesses and costly recalls. That’s where proper sanitation equipment and training come in (for example, see “The 100% Solution to Worker Testing, Food Quality August/September 2011). Specialists like Detectapro, Ecolab, and Neogen offer metal-detectable products, test kits, and training—all geared to ensuring the elimination of contaminants from processing area to finished product.

Investing in the right sanitation steps early is the best insurance against far costlier recovery efforts after a problem occurs.

Geoff Giordano, veteran editor of numerous newspapers and magazines, has been acting editor of Food Quality magazine since February. Contact him at [email protected] to contribute/suggest stories or provide feedback about the magazine.

Detectapro

Detectapro is a supplier of metal detectable products used in production areas.

PO Box 26
Menomonee Falls, WI 53052
866-441-5572
Fax: 866-441-5573
www.detectapro.com

Detectapro products are 100% Metal Detectable, are FDA Compliant, and are a critical part of any Quality Assurance program. Using Detectapro products in conjunction with metal detection systems, food processing companies can greatly reduce foreign object contamination to their final product. Reduce your risk of a recall by incorporating the use of Detectapro Metal Detectable Products.

www.detectapro.com

Ecolab Food & Beverage Division

Sign Up Today for Ecolab Food Safety Training!

370 Wabasha St., N.
ECC-9 Ecolab Center
St. Paul, MN 55102
651-293-2549
Fax: 651-293-2260
www.ecolab.com

Ecolab offers training workshops to help you stay current and strengthen your food safety programs. Get the training you need from registered trainers. Programs include BRC Food, SQF 2000, Advanced HACCP and FSSC 22000. Click here for a full training and location schedule, or email us at [email protected] for more information.

http://www.ecosure.com/EcoSure%20Supply%20Chain.asp

Neogen Corporation

Neogen has your rapid allergen and sanitation solutions.

620 Lesher Place
Lansing, MI 48912
517-372-9200
Fax: 517-372-0108

Don’t rely on guesswork, trust Neogen to help you meet your sanitation goals. AccuPoint 2 can measure your facility’s cleanliness fast and confidentially. For allergen control, Reveal-3D can screen for low levels of target allergens in clean-in-place rinses and environmental swabs. Contact Neogen at 800/234-5333 for more information.

http://www.neogen.com/FoodSafety/FS_S_Index.htm