MEAT+POULTRY - October 2015 - 89

S A N I TAT I O N T I P S

Personal
protective equipment
When it comes to sanitation at a food production facility,
there are many do's and don'ts that every person at the
plant should follow to ensure safety, from management all
the way down the production line. Sanitation can't be the
sole responsibility of the sanitation crew.
x First things first, it's important that management
emphasize that employees wear appropriate clothing (or
personal protective equipment) in the plant.
x The plant must provide employees with the right kind
of outer clothing to wear in the production facility so
that there's a barrier between themselves and the food
product.
x Clothing should include coats or smocks, aprons,
plastic sleeves, hairnets, gloves or even full coveralls.
x Protective plant clothing should never be worn outside
of the production area.
x All plant clothing should be regularly changed and
cleaned.
x Be sure to have an adequate amount of clean outer
clothing such as coats or aprons for visitors to put on
when touring the production facility.
x It defeats the purpose if plant personnel follow the
guidelines but visitors don't.
x Have the outer clothing laundered at the facility
instead of letting employees take it home to clean.
x Be sure that visitor clothing is cleaned regularly as well.
x Wearing appropriate clothing includes not wearing
jewelry, as well as exposed buttons or snaps that could
easily fall off and contaminate the environment.
When it comes to wearing the appropriate clothing
in a food production plant, footwear is just as important
as outer clothing. Management needs to be sure to pay

attention to people's footwear on the production floor.
Footwear can easily be a vehicle that transfers pathogens
from one area of a plant to another. There are many things
to consider when it comes to footwear at a production
facility, including:
x Plants must decide if footwear will be dedicated to
particular areas of the facility - in particular, if shoes must
be changed when exiting the production floor.
x If shoes aren't changed between areas of the facility,
then footwear should be decontaminated between areas to
prevent cross contamination.
x Foamers are one effective method that can be used to
sanitize footwear.
x Foot dips or baths can also be used.
x Be careful when using a foot bath that it doesn't end
up having a buildup of debris and bacteria after a high
number of uses; people may end up "washing" their shoes
in more contaminants than they started with.
x Be sure there is adequate sanitizer in the foot bath to
be effective.
x Encourage employees to leave their work footwear at
work so they won't take contaminants home or bring any
new contaminants to the facility.
x Provide employees with appropriate cleaning tools such
as cleansers and brushes to keep their work footwear clean.
It is the primary job of the sanitation employees to
keep a food production plant clean and sanitized, but it is
the job of everyone at the plant - both on the production
floor and in other areas of the facility - to help keep
the plant as clean as possible. All employees should see
themselves as a part of the food safety team.
K IM B ERLIE CLY M A | kclym a@sosland.com

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