Food contamination can occur at any point in the food production process. As food business operators, you know how important food safety is. One of the measures you must consider to ensure food safety and safeguard consumer health is ensuring good hygiene practices are part of your food production system. Any successful food safety management program must start with GHPs, which provide food business operators with a framework for managing food safety risks.
Focal Points of Good Hygiene Practices
Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs) concentrate on ensuring the production of safe and wholesome food by addressing key areas, such as personnel hygiene, emphasizing personal cleanliness and health, environmental hygiene that involves the thorough cleaning and sanitation of the production environment, and proper storage and handling practices to maintain appropriate temperatures and prevent cross-contamination.
Personnel Hygiene and health
In your food facility, you must prioritize employee health and hygiene to guarantee the safety and quality of food handling processes. This commitment requires that your employees adhere to cleanliness standards, such as wearing clean outer clothes and suitable footwear and removing unsecured jewelry. You are to maintain a high level of personal cleanliness, including thorough handwashing and the use of sanitizers when entering food handling areas, after using handkerchiefs, handling wash-down hoses, or dropped products.
Implementing disease control measures in your food facility will help ensure your employee’s well-being. If they exhibit signs of illness or abnormal sources of microbial contamination, they will be promptly excluded from operations until the condition is corrected. They need to report any health conditions to their supervisors. If they have a disease transmissible through food, they will not work in roles involving direct contact with products or related surfaces.
Handwashing facilities, equipped with hot and cold running water, soap dispensers, and disposable paper towels, play a vital role in your hygiene regimen. You must maintain these facilities to prevent any compromise in hygiene.
Environmental Hygiene and Sanitation
Ensuring environmental hygiene and sanitation in your food facility is crucial to good hygiene practices. To uphold this commitment, cleaning and sanitizing utensils and equipment must be done in a way that safeguards against food, food contact surfaces, or food packaging material contamination. The physical facilities, including buildings and fixtures, must be kept sanitary to prevent food adulteration.
Frequent cleaning of all food contact surfaces, including those of equipment, is essential, especially for surfaces used in manufacturing or holding low-moisture food, which should be dry and sanitary during use. Wet cleaning requires subsequent sanitization and thorough drying to prevent microbial contamination. In wet processing, cleaning and sanitizing all food contact surfaces are necessary before processing activities and after any interruption that may lead to contamination.
Continuous production operations demand regular cleaning and sanitization of utensils and equipment. Storage of Portable equipment and utensils must be in a manner that protects food contact surfaces from contamination. Single service articles should be stored and handled to prevent food and food contact surface contamination. Sanitizing agents must be effective and safe, meeting the required conditions of use.
Ensuring a clean and hygienic environment extends to sanitary facilities and controls. A sufficient water supply from a safe source is essential, with running water provided in areas needed for food processing, equipment cleaning, and employee sanitary facilities. In places vulnerable to flooding, floor drainage is necessary, and plumbing construction must prevent contamination. Handwashing stations should have adequate supplies and instructions for use.
As a food business owner, ensure that all your equipment is constructed with food-grade materials, free from rough edges, leaks, or excessive grease buildup to prevent contamination. Keep a close eye on the working condition of conveyor belts, thermometers, and gauges, ensuring they are well-maintained and easily accessible for cleaning and inspections.
Effectively manage unessential items to avoid poor housekeeping and pest control issues—store brooms, mops, and tools off the production floor and remove any idle or obsolete equipment from processing areas. Maintain all processing equipment in a clean-hygienic condition and establish written procedures for breakdowns and cleaning to uphold hygiene and food safety in your facility.
Prioritize floor maintenance by ensuring your floor surfaces are well-drained, smooth, and consistently clean, with no cracks, holes, or broken areas. Construct walls that facilitate easy cleaning, ensuring they are free from cracks and dust, and keep windows in good repair. Take care to maintain the surrounding premises meticulously, addressing any standing water, drainage problems, or signs of pest activity to uphold a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene in your facility.
Fresh Group Food is your go-to partner for expert food safety and quality consultancy services. At Fresh Group Food, we understand that ensuring food safety is a non-negotiable priority for every food business operator. Consult with us today and discover how we can assist your food business in implementing stringent environmental hygiene and personnel hygiene measures for the safety of your food handling processes.
