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Presumptive Identification of Microbes in Food Grade Air

Mar 24 2019 11:40 AM | Simon in

Introduction

 

Food is an essential requirement for the body, but it can also be a means of disease transmission if contaminated with microorganisms. In the United States, 48 million foodborne gastrointestinal illnesses occur annually, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths (2). These statistics, while alarming, are only of incidences reported. Most foodborne illnesses are not severe enough to warrant a doctor’s visit. Food manufacturing facilities can do their part by monitoring microbial bioburden, not only of food products, but also of the high-risk equipment used in the manufacturing and packaging processes, such as compressed air systems. In food and beverage manufacturing, not only should the ambient air be tested, but also the final processed compressed air for particles (viable and non-viable), water, and oil contaminants. This article will focus on the sources and identification of microorganisms from sampled compressed air using microbial sampling and presumptive techniques. Employing these techniques can aid in manufacturing compliance, product integrity, and cost savings.



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The Impact of Oil Contamination in Food Grade Compressed Air

Nov 30 2018 07:29 PM | Simon in

Compressed air contaminated with oil in the food manufacturing process can be costly and dangerous. Recognizing the common sources of contamination, reducing the risks associated, and working with an accredited testing laboratory can help to ensure safety of the end-product as well as continued system health.

 

This article will describe the sources of oil contamination, associated risks, the regulation specifications regarding oil, and the optimal ways to test for oil contamination in compressed air systems.



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Why Your Organization Needs Standard Operating Procedures

Oct 24 2018 07:40 PM | Simon in

If there’s one thing your employees and customers rely on, it is this: “Consistency.” Your customers want consistency because they need to interact with your products and services and for them to work in a predictable way. Your employees want consistency because it makes their jobs easier and drives efficiency. Your business wants consistency because managing the unexpected can be both timely and costly.

 

One of the best ways to ensure consistency and predictability throughout your organization is through “Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).”



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Monitoring Plans - What is the goal of your compressed air testing?

Aug 30 2018 07:43 PM | Simon in

To follow the necessary regulations and ensure the safety of an end product, companies should always employ a compressed air monitoring plan. Though the goal of any monitoring plan is ultimately safety, there are varying ways to ensure product safety and each manufacturer must set their goals according to their specific circumstances and needs. To determine the appropriate goal of an individual’s monitoring plan, companies should assess their risks and understand the regulations in place.

 

Manufacturers may have varying compressed air testing goals that are quite unique to their industry, end product, or even, location. This article will help to determine those goals by outlining the risks that compressed air systems face, the options that users have when it comes to monitoring, and the best ways to ensure the quality of the compressed air system.



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ISO Align and Enhance ISO 22000

Jul 19 2018 11:20 AM | Tony-C in

The long awaited second edition of International ISO Standard 22000 Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain has just been published (June 2018). Not surprisingly, there are a number of changes, there is much closer alignment with other ISO management standards, additional strategic requirements to address organizational risks and opportunities and more detailed food safety requirements.



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Compressed Air: Choosing the Correct Microbial Sampling Method

Jul 11 2018 06:11 AM | Simon in

International standards and internal facility health and safety regulations exist to improve and protect the health and welfare of consumers and facility employees respectively. Some regulations directly impact the product being manufactured, while others have roles in the daily function of the overall facility. In either case, when compressed or environmental air meets food, regulations must be in place to deem that food or beverage safe for consumption.

 

In 2014, Parker Hannifin Corporation released a case study about a bakery in Illinois that recognized its need to test the compressed air in direct and indirect contact with their food products. During testing, the bakery mixed ambient air with their compressed air resulting in false positive microbial contamination. After several months of retesting, they evaluated their sampling procedure and discovered it to be the issue.1 In this instance, understanding the standard for testing compressed air for microbial contamination (ISO 8573-7) would have aided in the resolution of the issue in a more timely manner.

 

This article will focus on testing within ISO 8573-7 guidelines for quantitative methods regardless of air type and how qualitative methods, while useful for some reports, may not be applicable to others.



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FSMA, HACCP, and Your Compressed Air System

May 17 2018 07:57 PM | Simon in

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) represents a significant shift in the approach to managing food-borne illness. According to the CDC, approximately 48 million people are affected by foodborne illness every year, leading to 128,000 hospitalizations and 3000 deaths. This represents a largely preventable public health burden. The FSMA addresses this by shifting the focus from one of reaction and response to one of prevention. The new rules created under this mandate apply to manufacturers and packagers of food and beverage for human consumption, as well as manufacturers of animal feeds.



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The FSVP is the Next FSMA Compliance Date

Mar 22 2017 07:54 PM | Simon in

One of the new rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP). For most importers of foods into the USA, the FDA has specified that the date they will begin inspecting importers to ensure they are in compliance with the FSVP will be 30th May, 2017. That effectively makes the FSVP the next big milestone of the total FSMA suite of rules.



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Behavioral Based Food Safety – An Alternative Training Methodology

Mar 21 2017 07:15 AM | Simon in

Organizations spend a fortune on employee training.

 

Organizations spent an additional fortune on quality failure: customer complaints, loss of business, destruction of goods, retesting, repacking, reworking, returns, recall, etc. In most cases the loss is attributed to “the human factor”.

 

If both of the above paragraphs are true, then something very strange is going on in our workplaces. This article introduces an alternative to traditional training methods to which we have become accustomed to over the years: an effective and enjoyable alternative with measurable results.



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How to Sample for Particles, Water, and Oil in Compressed Air

Sep 30 2016 06:26 PM | Simon in

Many in the food manufacturing business are wondering exactly how to go about complying with the requirements for routine monitoring of compressed air. SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000 and PrimusGFS schemes require monitoring but do not establish purity limits, nor do they provide guidance on how to accomplish this requirement.



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Achieving FSMA Compliance with BRC Certification

Aug 15 2016 06:48 PM | Tony-C in

To assist all BRC Food certificated sites BRC Global Standards commissioned The Acheson Group (TAG) to assess the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 7 against the final rule for Preventative Controls for Human Food. The results of the analysis show that certification to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 7 is almost in complete alignment with the expectations in FSMA. Source: BRC website.



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