Food Protection Trends - November/December 2024 - 410

ventions to effectively control pathogen levels on surfaces and
superheated steam has been proposed as a novel and promising
solution for dry sanitation (21, 28, 30). Superheated steam
heats saturated steam at increasingly high temperatures (from
125°C to >300°C) while maintaining the same pressure (13,
30). One of its most notable advantages is the large amount
of latent heat that rapidly increases the surface temperature
without steam condensation on the surface penetrating cavities
and crevices (5, 27), effectively inactivating pathogens without
introducing moisture (28). However, working with high temperatures
creates risks to operators because superheated steam
is typically invisible to the human eye (10) and accidental
exposure may result in skin burns. Similarly, exposure to superheated
steam on combustible materials may be a fire hazard,
because inadequate cleaning may allow the formation of a powder
or dust layer that can behave as a source of ignition when
reaching 100-200°C (42). For these reasons, this technology
may present a risk to operators that needs to be addressed and
understood before implementation in industry.
Food safety risks and occupational health are persistent
challenges in food processing settings (4, 15, 26). Food processing
can involve significant safety, health, and ergonomics
hazards. Occupational health and food safety risks can
be considered interconnected factors in some cases; therefore,
the development of policies and operational practices
that consider and address both of these concepts is necessary
(26). Occupational accidents and illnesses result in a
decrease of 4% in gross domestic product each year globally
(33); hence, workers' occupational health and safety are
an essential issue (18). The drive to strengthen standards
in food quality and safety among processing industries
is gaining interest worldwide (26). The food processing
industry has one of the poorest health and safety records
within manufacturing (15, 22, 32). According to Clayton et
al. (12), food sector representatives indicated that stakeholders
appreciated the connection between food work and
safety, yet only a few currently used this perspective in their
work. Several factors have been identified that influence
worker implementation of safe and effective sanitation
practices. For example, a review by Medeiros et al. (24)
mentioned that food workers that participated in a training
detected obstacles to cleaning and sanitization, such as time
constraints, lack of encouragement or willingness to adopt
practices, and carelessness of managers and employees. Katsuro
et al. (19) explained that it is important to empower,
educate, and persuade food workers to exercise their powers
in the protection of their occupational health and safety.
Furthermore, the importance of integrating quality and
health and safety management has been increasing among
companies worldwide (46), because these concepts are usually
interconnected and influence overall performance. Our
assessment of operators' safety perceptions of a sanitation
tool that has the potential to enhance food safety will be of
interest to stakeholders in food processing industry.
410 Food Protection Trends November/December
This study had two main objectives. The first objective
involved developing training material about superheated
steam safety to present to study participants, after evaluating
the existence of official regulations and voluntary guidelines
associated with the protection of the health and safety of
food processing employees. In the second objective, we
evaluated training participant (n = 24) safety perceptions of
the superheated steam sanitizer equipment after providing
hands-on experience with the technology and how certain
training activities influenced their perceptions of safety
at different times. The feedback was gathered in person
via survey and compared with their experience in food
industry and safety. The complete training incorporated
active learning activities (ALAs), described as " instructional
activities involving learners in doing things and thinking
about what they are doing " (2). Our hypothesis poses that
trainings that incorporate both theoretical knowledge and
hands-on experiential learning can provide positive results in
incorporating a new technology.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Presentation development and content design
Several sources of information regarding food workers'
operational hazards potentially associated with superheated
steam were evaluated. These sources included research
papers, gray literature (i.e., statistics, standards), material
from the equipment manufacturer (6), and a deep search
of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) guidance. OSHA's mission is " to promote safe
working conditions by setting and enforcing standards and
by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance "
(39). Experts from the Environmental Health and Safety
Department at Cornell University were interviewed. The
inclusion criteria for the selection of documents was that they
should address one or more risks related to the equipment
that was being used in the trial (e.g., high temperatures, heavy
weight, etc.) and the mention of requirements of personal
protection gear for specific risk-related tasks.
The findings from the literature review were used to
develop an operator's safety training presentation for a
superheated steam sanitizer technology. The presentation
was designed to have a duration of 20-30 min, allowing
additional minutes for questions and answers from
the audience. The presentation was delivered using a
synchronous, in-person format and a Microsoft® PowerPoint®
slide deck (Microsoft 365 MSO, Version 2306; Microsoft
Corporation, Redmond, WA). Contents covered an
introduction of food safety challenges in food industries that
cannot use wet sanitation practices and how superheated
steam may aid in overcoming those challenges. In addition,
key operator safety concepts (e.g., hazard symbols (31)
and personal protective equipment [PPE] (37)) were
included. Some examples of presentation slides are shown
in Figure 1. The section of the training related to workers'
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