When dealing with foods, hazards associated with physical contamination, such as nuts, bolts, and metal shavings, and foods containing hazardous chemicals, such as pesticides or strong cleaning compounds, can certainly be very serious. However, the most serious hazard associated with food products is contamination with microorganisms that can lead to food-borne illnesses and poisonings.
Generally, the physical and chemical hazards are detectable and identifiable as soon as the problem is evident. However, food-borne illnesses associated with microbiological activity may not become evident for some time, with people becoming ill hours or even days after the contaminated food product was consumed. It is also quite possible that tracking down the contaminant is difficult because of the wide variety of people who may have consumed the product out of a tainted batch and also because of the time required for positive microbiological testing and confirmation.
Thus, it is not inconceivable that a period of several days up to several weeks may lapse between the time a person consumes a contaminated product and positive identification has been made as to the source and type of microbiological contamination causing the problem.
Exemplary sanitation programs are imperative in the food industry. The development of such programs is vital in the prevention of microbiological buildup that can contaminate food products and transmit illnesses to those consuming the product. The importance of these sanitation programs becomes clear when one considers the difficulty associated with detecting microbiological contamination in foods, the time and difficulty involved in specifically identifying the cause of invasion, and the severity of food-borne illness or poisoning that may result.
Standard sanitary practices should be developed for each retail food establishment. A specific food-safety program may be developed by a large supermarket organization that will deal with most sanitation problems. However, specifics about the sanitation program should be developed for and adhered to by each individual store operation. Specifics as to store design, size, products handled, employees, construction materials, ventilation systems, and many more items point out the necessity to individualize any proper sanitation program.
It is imperative that anyone designing a sanitation program for a retail food establishment be aware that there is no single magic cleaning equipment, detergent, sanitizing system, or equipment construction material that will make all sanitation problems disappear. Wherever food products are handled and come in contact with equipment, packaging material, or people, the food product leaves a residue. Bacteria are sure to congregate, grow, and multiply in this residue.
Any food product that is of value to humans or animals will also be of value for microorganisms. If we provide the food supply and also the environmental conditions, bacteria can multiply at the rate of doubling every 20 minutes. This means if you have a cutting board on which you are cutting red meat and it has 50,000 bacteria on it, 20 minutes later there can be 100,000 bacteria, and 20 minutes after that, there can be 200,000 bacteria.
Because in our marketing location we have so many areas where we provide the appropriate food supply and environmental conditions, we must maintain a strict sanitation policy to clean and sanitize our equipment on a regular basis. Rolling the deli slicer into the cooler at six in the evening without washing it does not prevent the possibility of severe problems from a microbiological standpoint. The only thing the cooler will do is reduce the multiplication of the bacteria, not control it. This provides an opportunity for continual contamination and microbiological buildup the next morning when the unit is taken from the cooler.
Microbiological contamination is a certainty if good sanitation cleaning procedures are not followed in areas involving any fresh food product, such as meats, produce, dairy products, bakery products, and others where the product is eaten without further processing. These cleaning procedures include the utilization of recommended detergents and appropriate agitation, whether that is from high-pressure cleaners or good old elbow grease, to remove the physical soil and bacterial numbers.
Even though we reduce the number of microorganisms a substantial amount by cleaning, we must further sanitize our produce cases, deli tables, and meat-cutting blocks so that we reduce potential contamination to the very lowest numbers. These sanitation procedures must be followed on a routine schedule every day and every week.
Skipping these procedures for even one day can mean the difference between having a piece of equipment that is cleaned and sanitized or having one that will spread bacteria to the consuming public.
See Appendix 7: Growth Rate of Microorganisms at Different Temperatures.
See Appendix 3: Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP.)