Milling & Baking News - May 31, 2011 - 24

Signature Interview 

Safety expert reviewing BISSC
The industry turns to Gale Prince, the ‘Dean of Recalls,’ to update BISCC standards for proper sanitary design of bakery equipment
ale Prince has earned the title of “Dean of Recalls.” For more than 40 years in the food industry until he retired from The Kroger Co. as its director of corporate regulatory affairs, he managed several thousand recalls. He is considered one of the industry’s top experts when it comes to food safety, regulatory requirements, food defense, quality control, safety of imports and product traceability. That’s why several baking industry organizations — including the American Bakers Association (A.B.A.), AIB International, the American Society of Baking (A.S.B.) and BEMA — asked Mr. Prince, president of Sage Food Safety Consultants, Cincinnati, and his business partner, Jennifer Frankenberg, to review and update the Baking Industry Sanitation Standards Committee (BISSC) standards. BISSC is a not-for-profit corporation that, working with the ASB Z50 Committee, developed an American corporation that, working with the ASB Z50 Committee, developed an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for the design of bakery equipment. The standard provides guidance regarding proper design for sanitation and food safety for a variety of manufacturing equipment. “I have seen the good and bad elements of food equipment design, construction and installation that foster food safety problems,” said Mr. Prince, a senior member of the A.B.A.’s Food Technical Regulatory Affairs Committee. “Many pieces of equipment generate repeated extensive cleaning costs, and some prove to be uncleanable without modification. I have seen these conditions lead to product contamination, illnesses and product recalls. I hope my experience will help me provide input for the parties to consider in their deliberations on the equipment standards.” Recently, Milling & Baking News’ sister publication Baking & Snack asked Mr. Prince to provide his latest insights
24 / May 31, 2011 Milling & Baking News

about BISSC standards, food safety and the sanitary design of equipment. B&S: During the past few years, the focus on sanitary design for equipment sharpened noticeably. How has this affected overall food safety for the baking and snack industries? Mr. Prince: The BISSC standards have had an impact upon the sanitary design and installation of

resulted in people becoming ill due to microbiological contamination or undeclared allergens. The ability to thoroughly clean and sanitize bakery equipment can be very labor-intensive, especially if the equipment is not well-designed; therefore, the industry has taken it upon itself to review the standards and update them where necessary to further advance food protection. B&S: What changed that allowed BISSC to become less relevant over the years? Mr. Prince: In 1949, in a postwar economy and with the birth of fast foods, baking industry leaders realized they needed to write voluntary bakery equipment design standards to serve their industry. (A group of industry associations) created a committee to write industry equipment standards. By the 1970s, there were 42 bakery equipment standards and a set of installation guidelines. Over time, small changes to these standards were made, but there was not a perceived need to adjust them significantly. With baking being the “kill step” in most baking processes, many industry players have felt little need to make changes in the design of equipment. With current changes in food safety requirements and advances in food science, BISSC realized that something needed to be done to advance the standard, and in the early 2000s, it took the steps to get ANSI accreditation. B&S: Can voluntary efforts still be effective in the increasingly regulated environment of food processing? Mr. Prince: Absolutely. Voluntary
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

Prince

baking equipment over the years. Many of the design requirements in the standards came about through observations of users, equipment manufacturers and third-party auditors who identified deficiencies in cleanability and potential for product contamination. The bakery and snack food industry has enjoyed a long history of product safety, but times have changed with new science in food safety and epidemiology. During the last three years, there have been more than 400 recalls of bakery and snack products in the U.S. Many of these (incidents)

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Milling & Baking News - May 31, 2011

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