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Are you audit ready?

23 June 2023

Food processing businesses need to focus on maintaining a hygienic culture and must learn to think like an auditor argues Michelle Locke.

We live in an age of unannounced audits, where visit from an auditor can lead to interruptions to production and, in the worst case scenario the risk of extended technical review.

According to Campden BRI ‘Good hygiene starts with design – for food premises and equipment. The flow of raw materials, ingredients, packaging, people and utilities through a food area can markedly reduce or increase the risks of product contamination.’  And, while every professional working within the food processing sector knows this to be true in theory, the reality can be very different. Poor quality furniture and equipment, which is not designed to aid robust hygienic clean down routines, can still be found on food factory floors throughout the UK.

Root cause analysis of swab testing results show that furniture is a significant risk factor in any facility.  As such, the hygienic design of the furniture can dictate future success or failure when it comes to an audit. 

When regular cleaning is taking place with harsh chemicals, your furniture has to be able to withstand this tough treatment without the risk of corrosion or rust. Always invest in furniture that is made from the correct grade of stainless steel or waterproof construction board for the job in hand.  A wet, rusty environment is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica to thrive and multiply. These can cause a variety of foodborne illnesses with a range of very nasty symptoms that includes diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps, headache and fatigue.  And it’s important to remember that these illnesses are often very serious and occasionally fatal.  A Food Standards Agency report – The Burden of Foodborne Disease in the UK 2018 – estimated that there are 180 deaths per year in the UK caused by foodborne diseases from 11 pathogens, with around 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness.

Trap points for dirt and dust, such as ledges, seams and raised welds, offer a safe haven for microbial life. Drainage is also a key consideration as pooled water or cleaning fluids can be a listeria risk. Always opt for stainless steel furniture with sloped surfaces and in-built drainage points to prevent this.

Humans shed around 10 grams of skin every day, so effective gowning procedures are critical.  But if a piece of furniture has sharp edges or rough surfaces that will rip through a pair of gloves, the efforts of even the most conscientious production operatives will be for nothing.  

An auditor won’t be looking at an item of furniture in isolation. As well as checking the cleanliness of all surfaces including stainless steel furniture, they will be looking at the areas surrounding it, the floor beneath and any walls behind or to the sides. Cleaning staff need to be able to access these areas for each and every clean down.  From a production perspective, poor design and accessibility will mean longer cleaning times, which will add up over weeks and months, impacting on profits.

Clean as you go
Ensuring that production operatives have an awareness of the hygiene standards and training in cleaning processes will help reduce micro-loading during the production process.  By instilling a hygienic culture, an awareness of industry hygiene standards and thorough ‘clean as you go’ approach at every level of the business, cleanliness should become second nature and a matter of pride and will aid in the extended life of equipment and the product.  And this ‘clean as you go’ culture will have a positive impact on the time needed for a ‘stop and clean’.  

Then imagine that your cleaning team is a Formula 1 pit crew. When it’s time to stop production for a deep clean to remove built up debris missed by the production operatives, each person should know their role and carry it out with commitment and control, thus reducing cleaning time and risk.

Your customers need to know that you can safeguard both their productivity and their reputation.  Be vigilant, thorough and exacting when it comes to hygienic processes, and always be in control of situations.  Make it clear to customers that you are proactive; taking immediate corrective action to prevent a tiny issue from becoming a huge problem.  Be open and transparent with your methodology to leave customers in no doubt that their business is in safe hands.  When a piece of equipment has been deep cleaned, consider marking it ‘I’m audit ready – please inspect me’ as sign to all that this is the standard your business expects.

The eyes of an auditor
Take action and take control.  Put yourself in the position of an auditor and look at your production facility with fresh, and critical, eyes.  Would you be happy for an auditor to look inside machines, under tables and in the hidden corners of storage areas?  And once you’ve done that, think again about the audit requirements of your customers.  Once you have established and honed your hygienic processes in line with GMP, ensure that every member of the team starts to think and behave like an auditor.

An extended technical review can lead to lost sales, damaged reputation, and even regulatory sanctions. However, by being audit ready every single day; by proactively reviewing, maintaining and replacing their hygienic equipment and furniture where needed, food businesses can be fully prepared and avoid this ever happening. 

Michelle Locke is Product and Marketing Manager at Teknomek.


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