Food Protection Trends - December 2008 - (Page 925)

TABLE 6. Microbiological testing practices of meat and poultry processors, by HACCP size (percentage of plants) Microbiological Testing Practice Conducts voluntary microbiological testing Has company-owned lab for microbiological testing For plants that conduct microbiological testing and produce RTE product Tests RTE product after it is packaged Tests RTE product for specific pathogens: Salmonella species Salmonella Enteritidis Generic E. coli E. coli O157:H7 Listeria species L. monocytogenes RTE = ready-to-eat; NRTE = not ready-to-eat. See Table 2 for description of notation used to indicate statistical significance. TABLE 7. Environmental sampling by meat and poultry processors, by HACCP size (percentage of plants) Environmental Sampling Conducts environmental sampling For plants that conduct environmental sampling, routinely tests product contact surfaces for Listeria species For plants that conduct environmental sampling and produce RTE product Tests product contact surfaces in RTE areas of plant Tests nonproduct contact surfaces in RTE areas of plant RTE = ready-to-eat. See Table 2 for description of notation used to indicate statistical significance. testing method was used. (Note that respondents could select multiple responses; thus, the responses do not sum to 100%.) These results were similar for testing of raw poultry, RTE finished product, and NRTE finished product. Seventy percent of plants conduct environmental sampling in addition to product testing (Table 7). Environmental sampling includes sampling of equipment surfaces and facility surfaces such as walls, drains, and floors. Of those plants that perform environmental sampling, 56% use traditional cultural methods and 84% routinely test product contact surfaces for Listeria species. L. monocytogenes can be found on drains, processing floors, and equipment within meat and poultry processing plants (17). Furthermore, biofilms of L. monocytogenes may exist in areas of meat and poultry processing plants that are not easy to clean or sanitize, such as welding joints or corners (13). Very Small 62.6 11.3 Small 83.1+++ 41.0+++ Large 95.2 78.5 All Plants 71.0 23.9 69.4 77.0 65.0 65.7 68.7 93.2 90.1 90.5+++ 83.5 48.9+++ 74.7+ 64.6 81.1+++ 76.8+++ 94.9 91.1** 26.8 66.0 44.7 69.6 67.8 79.3 80.8 55.5 70.1 65.7 86.3 82.7 Very Small 61.3 84.3 Small 82.9+++ 83.4 Large 98.8 86.8 All Plants 70.2 84.0 99.2 69.2 98.9 90.5+++ 100.0 100.0 99.1 79.1 Employee food safety training The majority of meat and poultry processing plants conduct food safety training with newly hired production employees and with current employees on a continuing basis, as shown in Table 8. Large plants and small plants are more likely to provide food safety training than very small plants (P < 0.10). The training may be formal training conducted by plant personnel or professional trainers, DECEMBER 2008 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 925

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Food Protection Trends - December 2008 Contents Sustaining Members Perspectives from Your President Commentary from the Executive Director Observed Hand Washing Behaviors of Young Adults during Food Preparation Adoption of Interventions to Improve Food Safety at Meat and Poultry Processing Plants in the United States Call for Awards – IAFP 2009 Affiliate Officers IAFP Committee, PDG, Task Force and Affiliate Council Mission Statements New Members What’s Happening in Food Safety Industry Products Coming Events Index to Volume 28 Advertising Index IAFP Financial Report Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents Audiovisual Library Order Form Booklet Order Form Membership Application

Food Protection Trends - December 2008

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