Hygiene and Sanitation Control in Food Businesses

Every process that starts in the field or farm and continues in production areas, from the final product to the final consumer in various markets or through the service sector, is considered a part of the food industry. If your company operates in this huge supply network, you will encounter hygiene and sanitation controls in all your applications.

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What is Hygiene and Sanitation in Food Businesses?

Hygiene and sanitation are concepts that complement each other. While the term hygiene is widely used in medical practices and daily life, the term sanitation is widely used in the food industry. Hygiene includes practices that can be called preventive medicine, which aim to eliminate and prevent the spread of diseases and are synonymous with the protection of health. Food hygiene is, above all, the process of ensuring the necessary conditions for healthy food production at every stage, from the field, from the farm to the table. Environmental or product hygiene means that the microorganisms in the environment or product are at a level that does not cause disease.

Food Cleaning and Disinfection Process

Disinfection consists of reducing the amount of active and proliferating microorganisms harmful to health to a level that will not harm health by physical or chemical means. Disinfection is mandatory to ensure ideal hygiene and sanitation conditions in dining areas; However, generally only clean surfaces can be disinfected. Since achieving the ideal level of hygiene is the absolute goal of the food industry, cleaning and disinfection should be considered as part of production. Cleaning and disinfection techniques must be included in the written instructions and the instructions must be followed exactly.

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The type of work and food determines cleaning and disinfection requirements. For example; High-risk areas of a business need to be disinfected regularly, while low-risk areas can only be cleaned. Cleaning required at all stages of production, from raw material purchasing to the packaging line, is an important factor of the HACCP program, especially for ready-to-eat foods. Although cleaning eliminates many microorganisms, unfortunately it is not considered a process that kills microorganisms. Disinfection is necessary to reduce the number of microorganisms to the ideal level.

Sanitation Program

It is possible to list the content of the sanitation program to be implemented within the scope of Hygiene and Sanitation Audit in Food Enterprises as follows:

1. Production practices: The principle of keeping the production area clean should be followed by workers. Be aware that if a large amount of product is spilled, appropriate instructions must be followed and any remaining waste will complicate sanitation.

2. Preparations: Before cleaning the production area and equipment, electrical appliances and parts that will not be touched by water should be kept closed. When disassembling the device, its parts should be placed as high as possible. All raw materials and packaging must be removed from the area or covered so that they are not affected by water and chemicals.

3. 6-step cleaning is done. These;

-Coarse dirt is removed.
-Pre-rinsing is done.
-Cleaning is done with detergent.
-The second shaking is done.
-Disinfection process is applied.
-Final shaking is done.

4. Renewal: In order to complete sanitation and prevent microbial activity, it is necessary to remove excess water from the environment or dry the equipment. Thus, the growth of microorganisms is prevented until the next change.

5. Cleaning of cleaning tools: Cleaning tools should be cleaned after the process and should not be a source of contamination. Equipment can carry microbial contamination from one area to another. Equipment that has been kept for more than 48 hours must be disinfected again before use, even if they are clean. In cases where cleaning agents are used continuously and stored in disinfectant between uses, the disinfectant should be changed every 2 or 4 hours.

Our company continues its expert support services in all certification processes that food businesses need for institutionalization and branding, and implements the necessary measures in the most appropriate and fastest way.