Effective Sanitation Programs for Food Safety Success

A daily cleaning schedule: This schedule will assign specific tasks that are to be completed by a member of the cleaning crew every day.

A master sanitation schedule: The master sanitation schedule will assign the cleaning tasks that are not completed daily. These tasks may be assigned for completion weekly, monthly or quarterly etc.

Once again we must keep in mind that the cleaning scheduled must conform to the needs of the facility. The differences in products, equipment, size of the facility and available man power may dictate how the cleaning schedules are designed. The ability to achieve the objective of the overall sanitation program will be the deciding factor.

Self-inspection Programs

The effectiveness of the sanitation program will be measured by the findings of the self-inspection program. To accomplish this objective, a specific schedule of self-inspections must be developed.

Self-inspections will include pre-operational inspections, which are conducted before starting the processing line. These inspections will generally concentrate on the food contact surfaces, but you must be careful that you do not ignore the overall environment. This inspection is designed to ensure that each food contact surface is in fact clean and sanitary. The inspection will be composed of a visual inspection and may include taking swab samples to be tested for microbiological load or to be tested using a bioluminescence technique to test for organic material on the surface. All findings of the pre-op inspection must be corrected prior to starting the line.

Another type is a monthly self-inspection; a full inspection covering all areas of the plant also must be conducted periodically. This inspection will cover all areas of the operation and include all food contact surfaces and framework as well as the processing environment (floors, walls, ceilings, drains and overhead structure).

Processing areas, raw material warehouses, finished product warehouses, packaging material storage areas, shipping and receiving areas and the outside grounds must be included in this inspection. Also include all food contact surfaces and framework as well as the processing environment (floors, walls, ceilings, drains and overhead structure). The documentation of the findings of each inspection and the corrective action taken to resolve each discrepancy must be kept on file.

A periodic review of these reports by the plant sanitarian will assist in the evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the sanitation programs. This review will aid in the recognition of problem areas so that appropriate changes in the program can be made.

Joe Brent, of ASI Food Safety Consultants (St. Louis, Mo.) can be reached at 1-800-477-0778.