Ensuring Safe Food — A HACCP-Based Plan for Ensuring Food Safety in Retail Establishments

Bulletin 901

Appendix 3 — Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP)

I. Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) should address each of the bulleted points listed here.

Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures

SSOP

• Written Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) describe those procedures the establishment conducts daily to prevent direct contamination or adulteration of the product.
• Preoperational procedures are identified. Preoperational procedures address the cleaning of food contact surfaces of facilities, equipment, and utensils.
• The SSOP frequency is specified for each procedure.
• The employee(s) responsible for implementing and maintaining the procedures are identified.
• Records are identified and kept, on a daily basis; these records document implementation and monitoring of SSOP and any corrective action taken.
• The individual with overall authority on-site, or a higher-level official, signs and dates the SSOP upon initial implementation and signs and dates any new modification.

II. An example of a written SSOP practice follows.

Administrative structure is as follows:

President/Owner: ____________________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________________

Manager: ____________________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________________

The manager is responsible for implementing and daily monitoring of the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) and recording the findings and any corrective actions. All records pertaining to this SSOP will be maintained on file and become a part of the HACCP daily record keeping.

I. Pre-Operational Sanitation Equipment and Facility Cleaning

1. General Equipment Cleaning.
   
   All equipment used for food processing and/or preparation will be cleaned and sanitized prior to starting processing or preparation.
1. Established cleaning procedures include:
1. Equipment is disassembled, as necessary.
2. Food debris is removed from equipment.
3. Equipment parts are rinsed with water to remove remaining food debris.
4. An approved cleaning solution, ___________________ (name of cleaning compound) (120-140F), is applied to equipment parts/surfaces and scrubbed as needed to remove soil.
5. Equipment/parts are rinsed with potable water (120-140F).
6. Equipment/parts are inspected for cleanliness and recleaned if necessary.
7. Equipment/parts are sanitized with approved sanitizer, ____________ (name of sanitizer), or 180F water.
8. Equipment is reassembled, re-sanitized, and re-rinsed, if necessary.
2. Implementation, Monitoring, and Record Keeping.
   The manager performs a daily visual and organoleptic (smell) sanitation inspection after preoperational cleaning and sanitizing. The results of this inspection are recorded on Form ______. If inspection finds that the equipment is acceptably clean, then the appropriate box is checked and initialed. If corrective actions are needed, such actions need to be completed and documented on Form ______.
3. Corrective Actions.
   When the manager determines that equipment or parts are not properly cleaned, the cleaning procedure and inspection are repeated. The manager monitors the cleaning process and retrains the employees doing the cleaning, if necessary. Corrective actions are recorded on Form _______.
2. Cleaning of Facilities, Including Floors, Walls, and Ceilings.
1. Cleaning procedures:
1. Debris is swept up and discarded.
2. Facilities are rinsed with potable water.
3. Facilities are cleaned with an approved cleaner, ____________________.
2. Cleaning Frequency. Floors and walls are cleaned at the end of each processing day. Ceilings are cleaned as needed, but at least once a week.
3. Implementation, Monitoring, and Record Keeping.
   The manager performs a daily organoleptic (smell) sanitation inspection after preoperational cleaning of facilities. The results of this inspection are recorded on Form _______. If inspection finds that the facilities are acceptably clean, then the appropriate box is checked and initialed. If corrective actions are needed, such actions need to be completed and documented on Form _______.
4. Corrective Actions.
   When the manager determines that the facilities are not properly cleaned, the cleaning procedure and inspection are repeated. The manager monitors the cleaning process and retrains the employees doing the cleaning, if necessary. Corrective actions are recorded on Form _______.

II. Operational Sanitation Equipment and Facility Cleaning.

1. Food preparation and/or processing operations. Food preparation and/or processing are performed under sanitary conditions to prevent direct and cross-contamination of food products.
   1. Established personal hygiene procedures for employees preparing and processing food products include:
   1. All employees handling meat will wear hair nets during processing.
   2. All employees will clean and sanitize hands, gloves, knives, spatulas, cutting boards, etc., as necessary during processing to prevent contamination of food products.
   3. All equipment, tables, or counter tops are cleaned and sanitized throughout the day as needed.
   4. Employees take appropriate precautions when going from a raw product area to a cooked product area, to prevent cross contamination of cooked products. Employees change outer garments, wash hands, and sanitize hands with an approved hand sanitizer (equivalent to 50 ppm chlorine), and put on clean gloves for that room or area.
   2. Established procedures for meat product handling and storage include:
   1. Raw and cooked processing areas are separate. There is no cross use of equipment between raw and cooked meat products.
   2. Outer garments, such as aprons and gloves, are identified and designated specifically for either raw or cooked meat processing. Outer garments are maintained in a clean and sanitary manner and are changed at least daily, and if necessary, more often.
   3. Established procedures for insect and rodent control include:
   1. Insect and rodent traps will be maintained in nonfood handling areas.
   2. All areas (dry storage rooms, coolers, processing rooms, etc.) will be checked for visible rodent droppings and insects.
   4. Established procedures for mid-shift cleanup include:
   1. A full cleanup will be done for the processing areas and equipment, in the event that processing time exceeds 50F (in the applicable areas) for more than five hours.
   5. Implementation, Monitoring, and Record Keeping.
      The manager is responsible for ensuring that employee hygiene practices, sanitary product-handling procedures, pest and rodent control, and mid-shift cleaning procedures are maintained during a processing shift. The manager monitors these operational sanitation procedures once during each processing shift and these results are recorded on Form _______.
   6. Corrective Actions.
      When the manager identifies operational sanitation problems, the manager notifies employees to take appropriate action to correct the sanitation problems. If necessary, processing is stopped and/or employees are retrained. Corrective actions are recorded on Form _______.

Appendix 2 | Appendix 4 | Table of Contents