Sanitation and microorganisms

Sanitation is applied science.  Sanitation relates physical, chemical, biological and microbial principles of food, the environment and health.

Knowledge of microorganisms is important to the sanitation specialist because their control in part of a sanitation program. These organisms metabolize in a manner similar to microorganisms. They intake nourishment, then discharge waste products.

Some microorganism cause food spoilage and foodborne illness, but others are beneficial in food processing and preparation. To reduce food spoilage and to eliminate foodborne illness, this microbial proliferation must be controlled. Food deterioration should be minimized to prolong the time during which acceptable level of flavor and wholesomeness can be maintained.

Most foods spoil easily because they have the nutrients that microbes need to grow.  Foods that are packages for foodservice in stores especially fresh meats have a large surface area exposed. Bacteria can grow rapidly in these foods.

Food is acceptable for a longer time, and foodborne illness is less likely if the growth of microbes is controlled. Proper sanitation during food processing, preparation, and serving can controls food spoilage and pathogenic bacteria.
Sanitation and microorganisms 

Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs)

Good sanitation is the most basic way to ensure a safe product is produced. Because of so important, meeting the regulatory requirernents for Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures is preHACCP requirement that must be carried out in all establishments.

Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures contain a description of the procedures that an establishment will follow to address the elements of preoperational and operation sanitation relating to the prevention of direct product contamination.

Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures are required for all HACCP plans. They provide the acceptable practices and procedures that the establishments require to follow.

In meat and poultry plants SSOPs cover daily preoperational and operation sanitation procedures that establishments implement to prevent direct product contamination adulteration.

SSOPs will vary from facility to facility because each facility and process is designed differently. Daily records completion of the procedures in the SSOPs is required.

Records are identified and kept, on a daily basis, these records document implementation and monitoring of SSOPs and any corrective action taken.

Written SSOPs contain a description of all cleaning procedures necessary to prevent direct contamination or adulteration of products.

The employee is the key to any sanitation program; he or she must well trained on Good Sanitation Practices and followed them and SSOPs zealously.
Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs)

What is sanitation?

The word sanitation comes from the Latin word sanitas, which means ‘health’. In the food industry, sanitation means creating and maintaining hygienic and healthful conditions.

It also refers to all activities and conditions that ensure the delivery of safe and wholesome food to consumers.

Sanitation is to maintain or restores a state of cleanliness and promotes hygiene and control the environment so as to prevent the disease agent from getting to a new host.

Most food plants have locations that can promote the growth of pathogens and spoilage microorganisms that may be transferred directly onto product or carried into additional niches. Sanitation can reduce the growth of microorganism on equipment and dirt on food.

This can reduce contamination of food by microorganisms, that cause foodborne illness and food spoilage. 

The sanitation includes hygiene, work habits, food preparation and processing, holding equipment, and the psychical facilities so a restaurant and the food supply itself.

The sanitation procedure developed by establishment must detail daily sanitation procedures it will use before pre-operation and during operation to prevent direct product contamination or adulteration.
What is sanitation?

Total Quality Management

The Role of Total Quality Management
An effective sanitation program is a segment of total quality management (TQM), which must be applied to all aspects of the operations within an organization.

Total quality management applies the “right first time” approach. The most critical aspect of TQM is food safety. Thus sanitation is an important segment of TQM.

The successful implementation of TQM requires that management and production workers be motivated to improve product acceptability.

Furthermore, all involved must understand the TQM concept and possess skills to maker the program successful.

Quality Assurance for Effective Sanitation
Quality is the degree of acceptability. Component characteristics of quality are both measurable and controllable.

A sanitation Quality Assurance program can achieve the following goals:

• Identify raw material suppliers that provide a consistent and wholesome product
• Make possible stricter sanitary procedures in processing to achieve a safer product, within given tolerances
• Segregate raw materials on the basis of microbial quality to allow the greatest value at the lowest price.
  

By tradition, the food industry has applied quality assurance principles to ensure effective sanitation practices, among them, inspection of the production area and equipment for cleanliness.

If evidence of poor cleanup is reported, necessary action is taken to correct the problem.

More sophisticated operations frequently incorporate use of a daily sanitation survey with appropriate checks and forms. Visual inspection should include more than a superficial examination, because a film buildup that can harbor spoilage and food poisoning microorganisms can occur on equipment.
Total Quality Management

Quality Assurance and Sanitation Programs in Food Industry

Quality Assurance and Sanitation Programs in Food Industry
Since the late 1970s, the food industry has emphasized an organized sanitation program that monitors the microbiology of raw ingredients in production plants and the wholesomeness and safety of the finished products, in an effort to maintain or upgrade the acceptability of its food products.

As consumers become better informed and more sophisticated, it is even more vital for the food industry to develop an effective quality assurance (QA) and sanitation program. The efforts of regulatory agencies in the field of sanitation and food microbiology have been responsible for the food industry’s implementation of voluntary quality assurance programs. Food scientists have also had a positive impact on quality assurance programs because many of these professionals have joined various companies in the food industry. Their efforts have been instrumental in the adoption and/or upgrading of quality assurance programs for the organizations they represent.

In its initial stages, quality assurance was primarily a quality control function, acting as an arm of manufacturing. It has now evolved to formidable force within executive structure of large food firms and has emerged into broad spectrum of activities. A quality assurance program provides the avenue to establish checks and balances in the areas of food safety, public health, technical expertise, and legal matters affecting food manufacturing firms. Activities related to food sanitation include sanitation inspections, products releases and holds, packaging sanitation, and product recalls and withdrawals.

A quality assurance program that emphasizes sanitation is vital to the growth of a food establishment. If foods are to compete effectively in the market place, established hygienic standards must be strictly maintained. However, it is sometimes impractical for production personnel to measure and monitor sanitation while maintaining a high level of productivity and efficiency. Thus, an effective quality assurance program should be available to monitor, within established priorities, each phase of the operation. All personnel should incorporate the team concept to attain established sanitary standard, ensuring that food products in the market place are safe.
Quality Assurance and Sanitation Programs in Food Industry