Best Practices for Effective Sanitizing and Disinfecting for Food Manufacturers

In addition, depending on your type of facility, these chemicals need to meet FDA and/or USDA regulations for food contact. You can get this authorization information from the chemical manufacturer through letters of guarantee and technical data sheets.

Also take into account whether the product is high risk or low risk, and whether the sanitizing or disinfecting process will occur pre- or post-kill step. The surface the chemical will be applied to must also be considered, as many chemicals can stain, degrade, or even react with the application area. Contact the equipment manufacturer and chemical supplier to determine which chemicals can be safely used on your plant’s equipment.

Another factor to keep in mind is bacterial resistance to chemicals. Many companies choose to rotate their sanitizers throughout the year to avoid such resistance. One example would be to go from a chlorine-based sanitizer to an acid or quaternary ammonia-based sanitizer.

Also remember that sanitizers and disinfectants both need contact time (called “dwell time”) and concentration levels to achieve their goal. Many high-concentration sanitizers and disinfectants need a potable rinse following application to adequately remove them from the contact surface, so consideration should be given to whether a no-rinse sanitizer is warranted.

To help ensure proper use, many sanitizers and disinfectants can now be purchased ready to use, while other chemicals may have to be manually diluted or placed in automatic dispensers and, in some cases, specific water temperatures are required for effective use. Some chemical supply companies can even custom blend chemicals to achieve optimum results. There are many options to choose from, so discussing specific requirements with a chemical supplier can aid in implementing a successful sanitizing and disinfecting program.

Safety determinations aside, other chemical choice restrictions may apply, such as those imposed by customers, religious protocols (e.g., kosher), or special certifications (e.g., organic). Many sanitizers can also be used as disinfectants if mixed at higher concentrations or allowed to stay on a surface for longer periods of time, so, if you want to minimize the number of chemicals on hand, choosing just one chemical to serve a dual purpose may be amenable. Usage directions on the chemical label can aid in such a decision.

What to Choose

Here are a few points and situations that may further direct your approach:

• Wash pit/equipment parts washroom: Because the smaller parts cleaned in these areas can be used throughout the plant, most sites use hot water with a general-purpose cleaner and a chlorine-based or quaternary ammonia-based sanitizer.
• Floor drains: Sanitizing and disinfecting floor drains is a must in a production environment. Many microorganisms can be found in these locations, which is why most plants use a strong sanitizer or disinfect drains. Because drainpipes and drain grates are not all made of the same material, it is important to identify the material and ensure that the sanitizing and disinfecting processes does not damage or erode them.
• Roof leaks: A roof leak potentially can carry very harmful microorganisms, so disinfecting the area of the leak is strongly recommended. Items used to contain or divert the leaks should also be on a disinfecting schedule. Since disinfecting does not kill 100 percent of microorganisms, many plants discard their diverters after the roof is repaired to avoid unintentionally providing an area for microorganisms to harbor.
• A one-production-line bakery making a single type of bread: Pre- and post-oven sections of the production environment usually do not have a large space to store chemicals. In this circumstance, a general-purpose sanitizer that can also be used as a disinfectant at higher concentrations and/or longer dwell time may be most practical. You can disinfect more frequently prior to the oven and less frequently after the oven due to the differing temperatures and, thus, distinct environments for microorganism growth.
• Manufacturer of ready-to-eat refrigerated dips with no kill step: A strong sanitizer, and sometimes a disinfectant, should most likely be used in this situation because the risk of microbiological growth is much higher in this type of operation. Since the product does not go through a cooking step (kill step), the cleaning and sanitizing processes are often conducted daily or more frequently to reduce the risk of contamination.
• Biohazards: Always use a disinfectant when there is a biohazard spill in your plant. Such a spill contains many additional microorganisms not usually associated with the production process, so you’ll need to give more attention to the spill than you would with a typical disinfecting scenario. Always be sure you have the appropriate disinfectant listed in your cleaning procedures to address these types of spills.

Ultimately, the determination of whether to sanitize or disinfect is a decision that must be made in coordination with the HACCP/food safety team, as changes to equipment, processes, raw materials, or ingredients will greatly affect the requirements. In addition, actively involving the chemical supplier or chemical manufacturer will help determine and address specific chemical needs. Keeping current with microbiological research is also necessary since new potential hazards and harborage areas are identified each year.