Practices in Food Plants to Help Minimize the Risk of Contamination

Food recalls are becoming more common than ever before. Food outbreaks such as the 2018 outbreak in the Yuma growing region have begun to be a normalized event. However, food contamination should never be considered normal. It is not normal to question whether your salad greens were processed correctly or if your beef is safe for hamburgers. That is why modern food production plants have measures in place to keep consumers safe and minimize the risk of possible contamination. Here are just some of the regulations they use to try to alleviate this growing issue.

HACCP

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. Facilities that meet the HACCP follow strict food production, cleanliness, and safety standards set forth by this food management system. Having a HACCP system in place for a facility not only places confidence in the workers and the facility itself, but shows consumers the company cares about their individual safety as well. HACCP standards have shown to drastically reduce the risk of food recalls.

Antibacterial Flooring

If you have not worked in a food production facility in the last 10 years, it is likely you have yet to hear about antibacterial flooring options. Generally, most facilities feature flooring that is sealed and comprised of a non-porous material and emphasize a solid flooring unit. This greatly minimizes the risk of harmful contaminants seeping into the floor. Some flooring companies are even taking this notion a bit further with flooring options that kill bacteria on contact. Although the floor does have to be sanitized, it maintains antibacterial properties between cleanings.

Zone Based Cleaning Systems

When the average person thinks of a food production facility, they may envision a vast room filled with machines churning out food at a high volume. This is not always the case. Cleaning and sanitizing the entire facility are essential, but it is not financially feasible for a company to shut down entirely and clean the place. Instead they opt for cleaning zones. The facility will have multiple production lines and while most lines are running, at least one is being sanitized at all times. This reduces the risk of bacteria forming while ensuring the financial security and production quotas of the company. Some modern facilities even have measures in place where complete rooms can be closed off and properly sanitized instead of just a vast space with multiple lines.  

Gentle Processing™

Contamination can happen at any stage of food processing and unfortunately, current practices in production plants do not always alleviate the risk of contamination from the foods we love. Gentle Processing™ is the answer we have been looking for. Our process is simple. We do not diminish the nutritional value of the ingredient, but instead merely focus on the possible bacteria lurking within. Gentle Processing™ is a revolutionary way to process all foods to virtually eliminate the risk of recalls and contamination in foods of all types. Is your food at risk of being recalled?