PET Food Processing - June 2020 - 56

OPERATIONS

Hand washing or sanitizing stations at every
entrance and exit point
and before and after
using time clocks has
become essential.
Sosland Publishing Co.

56

and other sanitary gear, BrightPet has increased sanitation plant-wide. The company has enhanced protocols
for cleaning and sanitizing its manufacturing plants
and offices, including cleaning more frequently and
implementing additional cleanings solutions, additional hand sanitizer stands in all of its manufacturing
plants, and increasing the use of its BioMist portable
alcohol misting system.
"The BioMist system is something that's been part
of our sanitation program for multiple years," Golladay
said. "It is used during our multiple weekly sanitation
events. For the past several weeks we've ramped up the
frequency of use of that system and have expanded its
use into other areas of our facility, including offices and
any common areas."
Production remains steady at BrightPet's three manufacturing facilities despite all these additional efforts.
"As our organization continues to work with improved procedures in place, we are happy to report that
we have not experienced any significant delays in efficiency," Golladay said.
From an operations standpoint, Plato Pet Treats,
Fresno, Calif., has made similar modifications to its
sanitation protocols at its treat processing facility in response to COVID-19.
"We have increased the frequency of sanitation of
common areas from daily to a minimum of two times
per shift," said Aaron Merrell, president and chief executive officer, Plato Pet Treats. "These areas include locker
and break rooms, restrooms and all door handles, as well

as increased the usage and distribution of hand-sanitizing stations at every entrance/exit point, and before and
after using the time clock."
With the exception of additional hours required by
the sanitation staff, Merrell reported these changes have
had a negligible effect on production and overall plant
efficiency and have not impacted the company's standard food safety procedures.
Protocols to avoid cross-contamination is nothing
new in pet food and treat processing plants, but intense
focus on combating fomite spread takes plant sanitation
to a new level. Doug Marshall, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of microbiology, Eurofins, Des Moines, Iowa, shared
a list of the high risk touch points for transmitting microorganisms from person to person that includes door
handles, knobs, railings, chairs, tables, copiers, appliances, sinks, toilets, trash bins, soap, sanitizer, towel
dispensers, personal protective equipment storage bins,
employee lockers, vending machines, control panels,
keyboards and log books.
"These transfer points cannot be eliminated so efforts must focus on minimizing their effect," Marshall
said. "Environmental monitoring programs (EMPs)
can help processors validate their disinfection programs
as effective against SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes
COVID-19]. If the virus is found on employee touch
points, this suggests that there is an unknown asymptomatic spreader or spreaders of the virus in the facility (which means current employee-fit-for-work screening practices aren't working) and that the disinfection

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PET Food Processing - June 2020

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