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THE ULTIMATE FLOORING SOLUTIONS FOR FOOD PROCESSING AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES
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imilar to other industries, businesses involved in food processing and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products are susceptible to the growth and transmission of viruses and bacteria. When there’s a possibility of a contamination, the facility is immediately required to shut down temporarily for complete sanitization. In some cases, it also resulted in product recalls, which can be very costly for the company, both financially and in terms of reputation. In the food processing industry, the spread of infection often occurs among the employees. Case in point, at the height of COVID-19 pandemic last year, about 25% of meat packing plants across USA have to be shuttered in April 2020 due high number of positive cases among the workers in these plants . As COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that spreads primarily through droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through saliva or discharge from the nose, the fast spread of infection in these plants is said to have been due to close contact with an infected person and/or by touching infected surfaces. These facilities generally operate in a refrigerated environment, thus further attributes to spike of infection rate, in addition to harbouring other cold-tolerant bacteria. 1 Soucheray, S. (2020, April 27). US food processing plants become COVID-19 hot spots. Retrieved from https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/us-food-processing-plants-becomecovid-19-hot-spots
44 Mar-Apr 2021 | www.b-i.biz
In the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, contamination prevention is a critical component for state and federal regulations as well as protecting the safety of the public. These products are commonly manufactured in a sterile environment, yet some manufacturers still struggle with keeping microorganisms away from their facilities. Source of microbial contamination in pharmaceutical products include during manufacture, raw materials used, environmental sources, cleaning equipment, packaging, containers that are frequently re-used, repackaging of products, processing, storage and transportation. Food processing and pharmaceutical product manufacturers in Malaysia must comply with strict regulatory compliance guidelines set by regulators such as the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division (NPRA) or by the Food Safety and Quality Division (FSQD) of the Ministry of Health Malaysia, World Health Organization, and others. These guidelines include Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), an internationally recognized systematic preventive approach in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. As a global leader in coating technologies with a database of more than 10,000 paint formulations, Nippon Paint prides itself in being a Total Coating Solutions provider with a multi-segment
