FOOD SAFETY INFORMATION investigations conducted by Vikan indicate that much of the cleaning equipment currently used in the food industry is of poor hygienic design, which increases the risk of contamination from this source. It is clear that the ability to clean the cleaning equipment itself is critical to ensuring food safety and quality, and that the application of good hygienic design criteria will help in this regard. CURRENT FOOD INDUSTRY CLEANING EQUIPMENT DECONTAMINATION PRACTICES Traditionally, food industry cleaning equipment used in wet environments is decontaminated at the end of the production day - or more frequently if required- through immersion in warm soapy water, by use of a hose, and/or by manual cleaning. These actions are followed by the application of a chemical disinfectant, or by loading it into an onsite cleaning system, like a tray washer, before being hung up or placed in an oven to dry. During the day, cleaning equipment may also be placed in a ‘sanitiser bath.’ The sanitisers used in these baths tend to be a combined detergent- disinfectant chemical that is perceived to help remove soiling and disinfects the equipment simultaneously. However, there can be issues with sanitiser baths. This includes the potential for organic soiling on the cleaning equipment to quickly reduce the efficacy of the disinfectant component of the sanitiser, which acts as a protective barrier to the microorganisms present. Consequently, if the sanitiser solution is not changed at an appropriate frequency, it can became a ‘soup’ of food debris and microbes that can increase the risk of cross-contamination from the cleaning equipment. In some dry goods industries, brushes are not wet cleaned at all, for fear that the moisture introduced by the cleaning may not be completely removed by drying, subsequently leading to microbial growth and increasing the risk of cross-contamination. Instead brushes are used until they are deemed ‘unfit for purpose’ and then thrown away and replaced. In some high risk dry goods environments, like baby formula manufacture, brushes are used once and thrown away rather than risk the possibility of cross- contamination. This is an expensive and wasteful practice but it has been deemed the best way to ensure food safety for this critical consumer group. A few food manufacturers also use an autoclave to subject the equipment to a thermal disinfection step following cleaning. More recently, some manufacturers are using industrial dishwashers or washing machines to effect both cleaning and a thermal disinfection step into the decontamination process. Some of these cleaning practices are employed to maximise the cleaning of equipment with poor hygienic design, particularly with regard to the presence of crevices, which can harbour food debris (including allergens), water, and microbes. This may be the driver behind the relevant FSSC 22000 and BRCGS audit requirements, but how does the food industry ensure compliance with these requirements? HYGIENIC DESIGN CRITERIA Currently, there are only two groups within Europe that provide hygienic design criteria relevant for application to cleaning equipment and they are as follows, The European Hygienic Engineering Design Group (EHEDG) Founded in 1989, EHEDG is a consortium of equip ment manufacturers, food industries, research institutes and public health authorities that aims to promote hygiene during the processing and packing of food products. The principal goal of EHEDG is the promotion of safe food by improving hygienic engineering and design in all aspects of food manufacture. Copyright © Vikan A/S - Department of Research & Development First published, 2015. Revised, 2023 02
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