Baking & Snack - March 2020 - 93

FOLLOW THESE BEST
PRACTICES FOR
SEGREGATING PRODUCTION
execution of the project because you didn't prepare for
them in the first place."
Sanitary design remains a key criterion when evaluating new equipment, according to Sunil Sehrawat, food
safety professional for Asia-Pacific food safety services at
AIB International.
"The ability to break down the equipment easily so the
operators and sanitation crews can properly inspect and
clean it is crucial," he said. "When nuts, bolts, wrenches
and screwdrivers are needed for sanitation purposes,
disassembly and cleaning cannot be done easily or practically. As a best practice, you want to prevent the establishment of soils like bacteria biofilms and allergenic
proteins that can lead to contamination of products that
will impact product quality and safety."
It sounds obvious, but don't forget how the equipment
gets into the facility. "If you are buying a 160-ft tunnel
oven, what size door do you need to have to bring it in?
Sometimes you may need to open up a wall temporarily
and add a roll-up door to get the equipment in from a
parking lot," Mr. Kline explained. "With one plant, we
had to literally lift out a section of the roof to crane in
new silos. It was the only way to do it."

Isolate food production
Perhaps the biggest food safety risks involve cross-contamination when construction and production occur
simultaneously. In all cases, barrier guards or curtains
often do a good job to isolate and protect existing processes or production lines, according to Mr. Brixey.
However, in situations in which a renovation or
equipment installation emits dust or harmful odors
from welding or the grinding of metal, bakers will opt
for a temporary wall along with a ventilation system.
In other instances, Mr. Kline said, they will tent the
area with fiber-reinforced plastic that stretches and adheres to the floor, walls and ceiling to temporarily seal
the work area. The enclosed room is durable enough to
be outfitted with sliding doors to allow access that's away
from the food production area. The key is to ensure any
plastic material used is food-safe and fire-retardant.
"In one case, we used an air handler to draw air out
of the work area and into the parking lot to create negative pressure compared with the rest of the bakery,"
Mr. Kline said.
With older ovens and other used equipment, bakers
may face more difficult challenges involving the removal
of fiberglass installation. In a worst-case scenario, asbestos may come into play. "That's when you bring in the
experts," Mr. Kline advised. "They build small cocoons
rather than a small tent and remove that material, certify
the air is clean and ensure you don't have an issue."
While isolating parallel lines is relatively straightfor-

When Bluffton, IN-based Pretzels Inc. built
its newest facility in Plymouth, IN, the snack
producer added in a separation between
raw and finished production because the
plant produced peanut butter-filled and
gluten-free pretzels. Likewise, Kemper Food
International, New Albany, IN, recently
divided its facility into two, with a separate
nut-allergen bakery and an independently run
nut-free bakery.
Overall, facilities segregate these departments to reduce the possibility of crosscontamination, according to Sunil Sehrawat,
food safety professional for Asia-Pacific
food safety services at AIB International.
"By maintaining strict physical separations,
you can reduce the likelihood of transferring hazards from one process or area of the
plant to another, respectively," he said. "It's
also important to facilitate necessary storage
and management of equipment, waste and
temporary clothing to reduce the likelihood
of hazard transfer."
Some plants have established traffic and
process flows that control the movement of
all employees, products, ingredients, rework
and packaging materials. "High-risk bakery
foods like meat pies that are ready-to-eat
need physical segregation," Mr. Sehrawat
observed. However, that's not the case for all
medium- or low-risk baked goods.
Adam Stroh, senior process project manager, Stellar, noted that following GMPs such
as designated frocks for different process
areas or color-coded, color-coated gloves
and apparel are visual indicators of where
employees should be in relation to an area of
a production line. "Handwash stations, boot
scrubbers and foot foamers between process
areas are some of the standards for minimizing cross-contamination from foot traffic
through departments," he said.
He recommended designated areas and
good traffic flow for equipment such as
forklifts. Color-coded baskets, vats and bins
minimize cross-contamination.
Materials transferred on wood pallets
between facilities can be relocated onto
those made with food-safe metal or plastic.
"Otherwise, the best practice is to wrap the
wood pallet in plastic to keep any foreign
material from entering the product stream,"
Mr. Stroh said.

Baking & Snack - March 2020

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