Food Processing - October 2007 - (Page 50)

EMPLOYEE HYGIENE PHOTO: ECOLAB The vegetables may be clean when they come out of the rinse, but do they remain sanitary after contact with human hands? to comply, and put in measures to make non-compliance difﬁcult if not impossible. How? “Uniform” standards Clothing is a prime source of contamination. The best way to diminish the risk of contamination from clothing worn at your processing facility is to provide uniforms, gloves, boots, etc., and to make sure those uniforms and safety garments never leave the plant. Cintas Corp. (www.cintas.com), the Cincinnati-based garment and facility service provider, offers customers a complete HACCP-directed employee hygiene program. It’s a one-stop service with all products: bouffant, gloves, shoe covers, shoes, antifatigue mats, beard covers and more. Its garment-cleaning service employs a validated six-log microbe-reduction wash formula. The program also includes a restroom-cleaning service centered around the Ultra-Clean Machine, which is half shop-vac and half power wash. It also can be used in production areas. “It cleans all surfaces thoroughly, sucks up the water and ﬂushes it down the drain,” says Cintas representative Jan Eudy, noting the importance of restroom cleaning and maintenance in any employee hygiene program. The program also includes Sanis handwashing soaps plus an alcohol-based hand-washing agent. In recent years, anti-microbial fabrics have added a new dimension to hygiene and safety. Garments can easily pick up food and contaminants. Unbeknownst to the wearer, they can accidentally transmit contaminants by touch or proximity to food and food contact areas. The latest generation of antimicrobial fabrics has clear advantages over its predecessors. The new BioSmart antimicrobial fabric (patent pending) from Milliken & Co. prompted the creation of a partnership with G&K Services (www.gkservices.com) of Minneapolis, to produce antimicrobially charged garments and towels. BioSmart fabric binds chlorine molecules to the surface of the fabric. Milliken claims the chlorine will continue to kill deadly bacteria and viruses, including salmonella and E. coli, with 99.9 percent effectiveness after the material has been washed with EPA-registered chlorine bleach. The products are now part of G&K’s ProSura Food Safety Solutions program, a closed-loop effort from G&K 50 • FOOD PROCESSING OCTOBER 2007 to provide documented employee hygiene practices within HACCP efforts. The Chelsea, Mass.-based dairy processor H.P. Hood uses uniforms that employ another antimicrobial system on coveralls, hoods and other materials in its sterile ﬁlling applications. The uniforms, provided by Cintas, incorporate an antimicrobial material called the Integrity1800 fabric. Introduced in 2000, the durable, non-leaching material with its “aegis microbial shield” contains the antimicrobial agent Silano-quat. The Silano-quat molecule is a quaternary ammonium compound that kills bacteria. “The material offers no avenue for resistance because it kills on contact,” says Eudy. She claims the technology is more durable than leaching and migrating technologies, which require regeneration of their antimicrobial agents. Other segments of food, including the meat industry, have adopted it as well. It has been employed in non-sterile applications too, including Subway restaurants. The ready-to-eat industry is following suit, notes Eudy, with butcher coat-style frocks of Silano-quat. “You have ready-to-eat situations where food is contacted after it has been processed,” echoes Terri Bringgold, marketing services at Ecolab, which also works with Cintas in providing chemicals for uniform cleaning. “That provides an opportunity for contamination.” The focus in RTE applications should be at a point after a product has delivered its “lethal” blow to microorganisms. Footloose and germ-free Foot trafﬁc is a primary vector of food contaminants. Footwear contacts and carries just about every contaminant imaginable. Boots should be sanitized. Many plants employ chemical foot baths and other footwear cleaning devices to kill shoe- PROTECTING YOUR PLANT Ecolab offers the following advice on plant protection to dairy processing plants. You may well ﬁnd them adaptable to your operation. • Reduce the number of entrances and exits to the plant property. • Spray the wheels and undercarriage of all vehicles entering or leaving the premises with an EPA-registered disinfectant or sanitizer (foaming is preferred). • Stop non-essential vehicles and visitors from entering the plant. • All personnel entering and leaving should have footwear, clothing and hands cleaned to remove organic material, then sprayed or foamed with an EPA-registered disinfectant or sanitizer. • Each doorway entrance to the plant should be protected by a sanitizing system. Doorway spray/foam systems are recommended. • Ensure all surfaces are completely and properly treated during the cleaning and disinfecting or sanitizing procedure. • Pay close attention to personal hygiene (hand cleaning and disinfecting, boots, protective clothing, etc.) and make sure visitors do the same. • Provide your own protective clothing to all visitors. Used laundry should be stored in an appropriate laundry bag. • Read material compatibility notes prior to using any cleaner, disinfectant or sanitizer. • Wear protective clothing and safety clothing during the cleaning, disinfecting or sanitizing actions. WWW.FOODPROCESSING.COM http://www.cintas.com http://www.gkservices.com http://www.foodprocessing.com

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Food Processing - October 2007 Contents Editor’s Plate Power Lunch NewsBites Rollout Food Biz Kids Product Spotlight Annual R&D Survey Product Development Plant Operations Packaging New Product Profiles Toops Scoops

Food Processing - October 2007

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