If you work in a food processing and handling facility, it is vitally important to keep the food products that you work with free from harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, mold, spores, and viruses. These can all contaminate the finished products that your customers eat, which could potentially cause an outbreak of food-borne illnesses. While cleaning is an important first step in protecting the food products that you work with from contamination, it doesn't eliminate enough harmful microorganisms to effectively prevent foodborne illnesses.
This is why cleaning should always be followed by a sanitizing process. Sanitizing is what really rids the surfaces and equipment that you're working with of harmful microorganisms. And that is what makes the food safe for your customers to eat. This program will discuss how sanitizing works, the different types of sanitizing processes that are used in food processing and handling facilities and what you need to do to successfully sanitize your work environment. Cleaning can often remove debris on surfaces and make them look better, but it can also leave behind harmful microorganisms.
For example, If you're mopping a floor with a bucket of soapy water, you may be removing the dirt, but you're also spreading germs across the floor surface. That's where sanitizing comes in. The sanitizing process is used to kill microorganisms after the surface has been cleared or wiped off.
However, you can't successfully sanitize a dirty surface. So if you don't follow proper cleaning procedures, any sanitizing that you perform will not be effective. One of the very first things you should do when you're preparing to sanitize is to put on personal protective equipment, PPE.
You won't need it for every job, but if there's a chance that you will be exposed to harmful materials while you're sanitizing, sanitizing, you should always protect yourself as much as possible. If you're ever unsure about whether you need PPE for your task or what type of PPE to use, you can check your sanitation standard operating procedure. SSOPs or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan. Once you have donned the appropriate PPE, it's time to choose the sanitizing method that is right for your job.
The two most common techniques that are used to sanitize food processing and handling environments are chemical sanitizing and heat thermal sanitizing. Chemical sanitizing uses chemical compounds to protect the environment. to kill microorganisms, while thermal sanitizing does it by exposing a surface to high heat.
Not all surfaces can be sanitized the same way, because they can be made of many different materials, including plastic, rubber, aluminum, and stainless steel. So you need to make sure to use the correct sanitizing method for the surface that you're working with. If you're unsure which method will be best for the job that you're doing, you can refer to your facility's SSOPs or HACCP plan.
These documents contain information about the sanitizing processes used in your facility, including which methods are appropriate to use on the equipment and surfaces that you're sanitizing. If you can't find what you need there, talk to your supervisor. Done correctly, sanitizing should remove almost all harmful material that is on a surface, including bacteria, bacterial spores, viruses, and fungi.
In fact, to meet CDC requirements, the sanitizing process must kill 99.999% of existing bacteria in under 30 seconds. Sanitizing is an essential part of preventing foodborne illnesses. But what sanitizing methods can you use to help to ensure that the process is successful? One effective way is to sanitize equipment with heat thermal sanitizing. The most common way to perform thermal sanitizing is with hot water, because it's both inexpensive and easy to apply.
It can also kill a wide range of microorganisms, and it isn't corrosive, so it won't... harm the material that you're sanitizing. The water that you're using should be at least 171 degrees Fahrenheit.
Otherwise, it might not kill all the harmful microorganisms that are present. To sanitize larger equipment, you can pump hot water through it for a minimum of five minutes. Smaller equipment, like utensils or parts of machines that can be easily disassembled, can be soaked in hot water for a minimum of 30 seconds.
Sometimes hot water sanitizing can be accomplished by automated methods, such as a clean-in-place, CIP, or clean-out-of-place, COP system. If you have this equipment available in your facility, consult your Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan to familiarize yourself with the way it works. Another thermal sanitizing method that you may need to use is steam sanitizing. This process employs an industrial dry steam cleaner, which creates steam by heating water to extremely high temperatures.
One advantage of this method is that it can be used to clean the floor. of this process is that the steam evaporates quickly and surfaces usually dry almost immediately. This means that you can often use the equipment or work area right after you sanitize it, saving the time that you would normally spend waiting for the surface to air dry.
Since it is a somewhat automated process, steam sanitizing can save time and manpower by sanitizing smaller parts of machinery that can't be reached by other methods. So you don't have to dismantle them to perform the sanitizing process. Chemical sanitizing is probably the most frequently used type of sanitizing in the food processing and handling industry.
So it's important to understand the role of the sanitizing chemicals in your facility and how and where they should be used. Any chemical sanitizer that you use should be approved for food surfaces, low in toxicity, and stable under all types of conditions. There is no one chemical sanitizer that can be used for all surfaces under all conditions. So you need to know what to consider in order to select the right one for the job you're doing.
For instance, each sanitizing chemical has a specific temperature range at which it should be used. So before you choose one, you should check to see at what temperature it is most effective. Another factor that can happen is that the chemical can be used for a long time. affect your choice of a sanitizer is its corrosiveness. Some chemical sanitizers can cause certain types of surfaces to corrode quickly, so you should always make sure that you know what surfaces you can use them on.
Information on temperature ranges and approved surfaces can be found on the sanitizers label or on a safety data sheet. If you can't find this information in these places you can consult your facility's Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan or ask your supervisor. Since many sanitizing chemicals are sold in a form that is highly toxic, you'll often have to add water to dilute them before they can be used. Concentration refers to the amount of chemical that is present in a mixture of chemicals and water, a solution.
A sanitizing solution's concentration is measured in parts per million ppm. One ppm is equal to one milligram of the chemical per one liter of water. As you would guess, changing the concentration of a sanitizing solution will affect the way it works. A larger amount of sanitizer usually makes a solution more effective, but using too much can damage the surface that you're sanitizing and lead to problems cleaning and sanitizing it in the future.
Every sanitizing chemical has a specific range of concentration at which it is most effective. For example, chlorine solutions should contain between 50 and 200 ppm of chlorine. Any concentration outside this range could negatively affect the way the sanitizer works. To find information about the recommended concentration of a chemical, you can check the label of the sanitizing products that you're using or look at the Chemical Safety Data Sheet.
Your facility might also have procedures set up to test your solution to see if it is the proper concentration. If you have any questions about the sanitizing process you should be using, you can refer to your facility's SSOPs or the HACCP plan, or ask your supervisor for help. One of the most important things to remember about sanitizing something is that an unclean surface can't be sanitized.
So before you begin sanitizing you should do a quick check to make sure that the surface you're working with has been thoroughly cleaned and is completely dry. Look in, around, and under equipment to make sure there isn't any soil remaining on its surface. Smell the area. Does it have a sour or a musty odor? If so, then the surface isn't clean.
Feel the surface for grease or grit that might be left over after cleaning and spot clean the area as needed. Check for detergent residue. If you find any, rinse the surface with water to remove it before you sanitize.
Make sure to wait until the surface is completely dry before you begin the sanitizing process Any water that is left on a surface can dilute a sanitizing solution even further Which can affect the way it works Sanitizing can kill the majority of harmful microorganisms on surfaces and equipment. But sometimes it can be difficult to remember how to do it the right way. Let's look at some different sanitizing processes that you might want to do.
use on the job and what you need to do to perform them correctly. There are both automated and manual methods that are used to sanitize food processing and handling equipment and surfaces. But there is no one method that can be used for all surfaces under all conditions.
So you need to know what to consider in order to select the right one. Clean-in-place CIP systems can be used to flush cleaning, rinsing, and sanitizing solutions through larger pieces of equipment such as tanks, pipes, and pumps. These systems are fully automated and do not require moving or taking the equipment apart, which saves time and manpower.
Clean out of place, COP systems, are used to clean and sanitize small pieces of equipment such as fittings, hoses, and utensils. COPs are partially automated, but unlike CIPs, you need to dismantle the equipment and bring it to a designated area to be cleaned and sanitized. COPs can also sanitize equipment by filling up the tanks with hot water, but usually a chemical compound is used. Much like your dishwasher at home, most COPs use detergent and agitation to perform the cleaning process in specially designed tanks. To sanitize, the tanks are filled with a chemical sanitizing solution.
While these are the most common types of automated systems that are used, your facility may use other machines to sanitize equipment as well. So you should become familiar with any machinery that is used for sanitizing. If you have any questions, consult your Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, SSOPs, or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, HACCP plan, or consult your supervisor. When equipment can't be cleaned and sanitized using automated systems, you'll need to sanitize equipment using manual methods.
This means that sanitizing is carried out by employees like you. One way that you can manually sanitize both equipment and surfaces is to apply hot water. In this case, the water should be hot enough that you need to wear gloves at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit so that the microorganisms are being exposed to temperatures that are high enough to kill them. Another way to perform the sanitizing process is by using sanitizing chemicals.
This method is not only used to sanitize equipment, but also used on general work areas and surfaces, such as floors, counters, and walls. In many cases, a chemical sanitizing spray is the most efficient way to sanitize, because the spray can be applied to a large area in a short amount of time. But not all chemicals are approved for all surfaces. So make sure to check your SSOPs or HACCP plan, or check with your manager or supervisor if you have any questions about what you should be using. Remember, sanitizers need time to work.
There is no sanitizer that will instantly get rid of microorganisms. Typically, the longer you expose the surface to a sanitizer, the more effective the sanitizing process becomes. At a minimum, a sanitizer should reside on a surface no less than 30 seconds before you wipe it off. But be sure to check the label of the sanitizer you're using to determine its recommended contact time. Once a sanitizer has been on the surface for the recommended amount of time, you can wipe it down with a dry, lint-free towel.
However, it's usually better to allow the surface to air dry if possible. If the towel that you use to dry it isn't clean, it can recontaminate the surface that you just worked so hard to sanitize. Sanitizing is crucial to eliminating the harmful microorganisms that can contaminate the food products that you're working with.
Using good sanitizing procedures at work can greatly reduce the chances of your customers eating unsafe food and developing a foodborne illness. Let's review. After you clean a piece of equipment, or work surface, it should be sanitized to remove the harmful microorganisms that remain. You can sanitize most equipment and work areas using heat, thermal, or chemical methods.
Before you choose a chemical sanitizer, you should determine the temperature of the environment, the corrosiveness of the chemical, and the concentration of the sanitizing solution that you should be using. You cannot... successfully sanitize a surface if it is not clean and dry. If you have any questions about using sanitizing chemicals, your SSOPs or HACCP plan can be a good source of information.
By using proper sanitizing procedures with equipment and surfaces in your work area, you will be doing your part to keep your customers safe from foodborne illnesses every day.