The risk of food contamination is largely avoidable. And many contaminations are often caused by incorrect design or the use of inappropriate building materials. WONE referred to relevant information such as “Designing Food Safety Into Your Plant” (Mike Pehanich), summarizing and organizing this article to help food companies reduce the possibility of destructive food safety incidents.
Workshop hygiene planning:
Dividing control areas
Controlling temperature and humidity
Design of hygiene facilities
Workshop hygiene planning follows three principles: dividing control areas; controlling temperature and humidity; and designing hygiene facilities. These three principles lead to 11 specific issues.
01
Dividing different hygiene areas
Maintain strict physical isolation to reduce the possibility of contamination from one area of the plant or from one process to another area of the plant or process. Its essence is to strictly control the movement of people and materials through the plant to prevent the occurrence and spread of contamination.
Personnel:
It can be intentional or unintentional that carriers, workers, or visitors, participate or not participate in direct food production.
Materials:
Raw materials, packaging materials, garbage, reworked food, inedible substances, uniforms and clothing, repair materials, and parts, cleaning and sanitation chemicals
02
Control the flow of people and materials to reduce risks
Establish personnel, logistics, and process flows to control the flow of production workers, management personnel, visitors, on-site quality control, sanitation and maintenance personnel, products, ingredients, rework, and packaging materials to reduce food safety risks.
It should be noted that the transfer of equipment from one process or part of the plant to another often poses a greater risk. Listeria, pests, mold, etc. may be transferred as a result, especially for material transport vehicles. All equipment moving between different parts of the plant needs to be cleaned and sanitized.
03
Effective control of water accumulation in the workshop
When designing and constructing a building (floor, walls, ceiling, and supporting infrastructure), attention should be paid to preventing the random discharge and accumulation of water. Ensure the controlled discharge of water in production areas and ensure that these areas are dried within the specified time. Temperature and humidity are critical to the growth of microorganisms. The drier your facility is, the easier it is to control the growth and spread of microorganisms. But for many food processing environments, this is not easy because water is an important part of the product, processing, and hygiene.
04
Control temperature and humidity
It is easy to control microbial growth by controlling indoor temperature and humidity. Maintaining the optimal temperature and humidity of the product at each stage of production, processing, and handling is a great help in ensuring product safety. Each microorganism has an optimal control temperature range. Preventing the accumulation of mist and condensation reduces the opportunity for microbial reproduction.
Keeping the processing area cool and dry will reduce the growth potential of pathogens
Control the ventilation system to maintain a specified temperature to prevent condensation
Carry out anti-fog management of control systems such as cleaning and purification cycles
Keep the room dry after cleaning and sanitation
05
Control indoor air flow and air quality
Design, install, and maintain HVAC/refrigeration systems in production and processing areas to ensure that airflow flows from areas with higher cleanliness to areas with lower cleanliness. Adequately filter the air to control contaminants. Provide outdoor replenished air to maintain specified airflow, minimize condensation on exposed surfaces, and capture high concentrations of heat, moisture, and particulates at their source.
Air can be a major source of mold, bacteria, and other microorganisms, as well as allergens and other potential contaminants. It also carries heat and moisture, which can compromise the quality or safety of food under certain conditions. Filtering air at 0.1 microns can remove bacteria, yeast, mold and most viruses. In addition, taking appropriate measures to disinfect the air is also an aspect to be considered.
06
Maintaining a hygienic external environment
Provide good basic conditions such as outdoor ground, lighting, slope, and water systems to promote hygienic conditions on site and control access to and from the site.
-The external area of the workshop should be kept clean and away from shrubs and trees (any objects that may harbor pests) from the building.
-Use bait boxes and traps where safe feasible and permitted by regulations. Keep grass trimmed and away from plants.
-Prevent pests from entering with appropriate door seals. Door and window screens should use 22 mesh or finer materials.
-Air curtains provide an additional layer of protection.
-Outdoor lights should be away from buildings to avoid attracting insects, which increase the possibility of entering food processing areas.
-If you are building a new facility, do not build near areas with a high risk of contamination, such as sanitary landfills, refineries, wastewater treatment facilities, garbage dumps, etc.
-Access should also be controlled from the plant gates and/or other key entrances.
07
Building exterior walls to ensure hygiene conditions
When designing and constructing the building’s exterior walls, all openings (doors, shutters, fans, and utility penetrations) should be sealed to prevent insects and rodents from entering.
08
Indoor layout planning to promote hygiene
Plan the interior layout of the workshop to enable cleaning, sanitation, and maintenance of building components and processing equipment.
Do not push equipment into narrow spaces. Leave a certain amount of space between the machine and the wall to allow for cleaning, sanitation, and maintenance of the equipment. All wall-mounted objects, including signs, sinks, electrical boxes, and pipes, should also have sufficient space between them and the wall to allow for effective cleaning.
09
Building components and structures to promote hygiene conditions
Design building components to ensure sealed joints and no gaps to prevent the harboring of pests.
Construction of floors, ceilings, and walls should not leave gaps or cavities. Choose materials that resist wear and cracking. Seal seams and cracks, and apply epoxy or other coatings to improve wear and eliminate dirt accumulation.
“Floors are the most vulnerable surfaces in a food plant.” They should be resistant to everything they may encounter – food residue, chemical damage, disinfectants, equipment movement, microbial attack, etc.
Food plant floors should be strong enough to avoid cracking from various causes and have a high degree of cleanability. Don’t fuss with this part of the factory expenditure. When sanitation planning involves floors, all efforts will eventually pay off.
10
Public facilities should be designed to prevent contamination
Public facilities should be designed with appropriate materials, provide access for cleaning, inspection, and maintenance, prevent water collection points, and prevent pest harborage points and crevices.
11
Integrate environmental hygiene with facility design
Provide appropriate hygiene systems to eliminate chemical, physical and microbiological hazards present in the food plant environment. Integrate all necessary hygiene systems (including cleaning areas, steam systems, CIP systems, etc.) into the plant design.
