feature food and beverage hygiene
Post-clean and pre-operational inspection in a good hygiene plan Cleaning and disinfection in food and beverage production sites ensure that the final product passes the required quality controls and is safe for the consumer. At the beginning of each production shift, having a processing line free from residues that may impact on the end flavour, colour or texture is critical to maintaining the brand standard.
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ven more important is to ensure that no undesired chemical residue, allergen, spoilage or pathogen bacteria, which might contaminate the end product, is present. Any negative impact on product integrity and brand protection is likely to affect the financial performance of the company as well as potentially harming consumer health. Diversey, a global provider of cleaning, sanitation and maintenance products, systems and services that efficiently integrate chemicals, machines and sustainability programmes offers greater insight into effective cleaning routines in food and beverage plants.
Types of cleaning There are two main types of cleaning methods in food and beverage plants: automatic and manual. Automatic or semi-automatic cleaning and disinfection operations are those activities that are run by a pre-set system or machine; examples might be automatic cleaning in place (CIP), membrane cleaning or bottle or crate washing.
It is important to validate that: • The CIP system is completing the programmes as intended • Objects have been cleaned and sterilised properly • Any residual chemicals have been removed Monitoring activities should validate the key application parameters (time, temperature, concentration, flow, etc.) and cleanliness/microbiological quality of the food contact surfaces measured via rapid techniques (ATP, proteinbased tests, immune-enzymatic-based,
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African Cleaning Review January/February 2020
lateral-flow tests kits) and standard microbiological analysis. Crosschecking these measurements during validation will result in good control over the application. Typically, operators making use of specific dosing systems or cleaning tools carry out manual-based cleaning. Examples might be open plant cleaning (OPC) with foaming systems on large surface areas or the manual cleaning of utensils, tools or machine parts. In these applications, although the key application parameters remain very important, it is also crucial to make sure operators carry out their task consistently and effectively to meet the required standard, as the entire effectiveness of the hygiene task is literally, in this case, in the hands of the operator who is carrying it out. As well as ensuring that each operator is suitably trained for the tasks they are performing, they should also understand the importance of how, by simply using senses, it is possible to prevent potential food-safety incidents, or costly noncompliances, with subjective cleaning validation checks being completed throughout the cleaning process. It is important to note that applying a disinfectant over a dirty surface makes the disinfection step ineffective. On top of wasting water, time, energy and chemicals, the food-contact surface may have microbial residues that could endanger the following production.
stainless-steel surface. For example, a blue shade on a stainless-steel foodcontact surface might indicate fats not being correctly removed, a white shade might indicate the presence of a mixed organic as well as inorganic soil, while a yellow shade might indicate fats have not been correctly removed from that surface for some time.
Smell Surfaces and food- and beverageproduction machines should simply smell ‘clean’. Rancid odours might indicate that there are old residues not being correctly removed; lifting lids, conveyors or smelling the lower parts of frames or machines is a good way to make sure there is no old soil left.
Touch A stainless-steel food-contact surface should not be greasy after cleaning, and by passing a finger over it there should not be any mark. Cleaning operators should be checking the surfaces, machines or department they are assigned to every time by using their senses, and if applicable, rapid kits (ATP for example), before moving to the disinfection step. This activity should be recorded electronically to increase the operator’s feeling of responsibility for the task they are undertaking and to keep an auditable paper trail.
Pre-operational inspections Post-cleaning checks should include Sight Surfaces simply look clean; no shades of colours should be present on a clean
Pre-operational inspections should be in place prior to starting up a food- or beverage-processing line. Typically, in the food-processing business, cleaning is done at the end
