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There are many factors that food processing businesses need to consider when ensuring pest control food safety for consumers. Adhering to the necessary food safety standards and regulations can help prevent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses such as Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter.
Here are 10 critical areas of focus that will help you to ensure that food safety is applied to your business. Call us today at 1-855-633-6260 or contact us online to learn how Rentokil can partner with your facility to keep your employees and property safe from risk.
The design and location of a food processing facility need to be taken into account when ensuring food safety meets the correct standards. Areas that are known to be pest “hot spots”, as well as those prone to pollution, should be avoided to reduce the risk of contamination.
Materials used for the internal structure of buildings should be durable, easy to clean and maintain, and safe for staff.
The layout of the production line should allow easy maintenance and cleaning of machinery, preventing contamination of the food products and ingredients during the production process.
The design of machinery used for food processing also has to be taken into account to comply with food safety regulations. Poor design can result in the build-up of food material in hidden places that are difficult to clean. There are standards for machinery design, such as the NSF equipment design standard, to ensure all food handling and processing is performed to a high standard of hygiene.
The North American Meat Institute’s Equipment Design Task Force used the NSF standard to develop 10 principles to be addressed when designing machinery used in food processing.
The 10 principles of sanitary design are:
Learn more about the 10 principles here.
Pest control plays an important part in food safety. Troublesome insects such as cockroaches and flies can spread food-borne diseases by contaminating food at any stage of production.
Rodents such as mice and rats also spread diseases as well as causing damage to buildings, fixtures and machinery. Stored product pests can damage and contaminate food during transport and storage.
Investing in pest control monitoring and detection can help prevent pests from entering a food processing establishment, helping your facility remain compliant. If you have a pest issue in your facility, contact the pest control experts at Rentokil today.
Provide appropriate containers and suitable waste storage areas. Establish adequate procedures for the storage and removal of waste. This prevents the build-up of waste and pests and reduces the risk of contamination of ingredients, equipment and products.
Establish cleaning and disinfection programs to ensure the correct hygiene standards are met, reducing the risk of a foodborne illness outbreak. This includes properly cleaning and disinfecting food preparation areas as well as machinery and utensils used within the food processing cycle to eliminate the microorganisms that cause food poisoning.
Adhering to the correct cleaning processes will also reduce the risk of pests such as rodents, flies and cockroaches in food preparation and processing areas by removing potential food sources and insect breeding sites. For the most thorough clean, Rentokil offers professional disinfection services for commercial businesses. Learn more here.
Establishing proactive maintenance measures for properties and food processing machinery both ensures that the machines run properly and produce safe foods.
An article from the Food Safety Magazine states that a number of foodborne illness outbreaks can be linked to the failure to ensure equipment is properly maintained under the correct sanitary conditions. They provide an example of a botulism outbreak in the early 1980s which was caused by improperly performing can reformer machines.
Pests such as rats and mice can affect the way in which machines perform, gnawing at the power cables and contaminating the components that have direct contact with the products.
Installing the correct facilities for staff to ensure proper personal hygiene is also important for meeting food safety requirements.
Bacteria can easily be spread through biological and physical contamination. This can put foods at high risk of carrying food-borne diseases.
Food processing facilities rely on the use of potentially dangerous chemicals for sanitation and pest control. Because of this, special attention must be paid to reduce the risk of accidental environmental contamination during the food processing cycle. Any chemicals stored and used on food processing premises must not contaminate the food products at any stage in production.
On top of food production and preparation, food safety also has to be applied during handling, storage and transportation, for both incoming deliveries and products going out to customers.
A range of factors should be considered during these stages to ensure food products do not become contaminated. Temperature and humidity; hygiene of vehicles, containers and packaging; and even cyber security are all important considerations during these stages of the food supply chain.
The FDA provides guidance for the sanitary transportation of food in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, pertaining to all sectors of the food industry. It broadly discusses applicable recommendations for controls to prevent food safety problems during transportation.
Educating staff on how to ensure food safety practices are followed will help reduce the risk of contamination. Regulations require that food handlers are supervised and trained in food hygiene practices suitable for their work activity.
The areas in which staff should receive training include:
For multi-site customers we offer a dedicated key accounts team with a single point of contact for consistent and efficient service.