6 replies to this topic

[Pandy]

Hey Everyone,

I am wondering how in depth a cleaning schedule should be for a warehouse. All products or ingredients stored in the warehouse are covered and dont pose any risk to contamination. We already have certain cleaning procedures in place like mopping, sweeping, sweeping under pallets and cleaning the racks periodically. My question is should we go as far as to clean the rafters, electrical conduit, walls etc? Thanks for any input

Andy

[Setanta]

Andy,

My thought is yes, you should go this far in depth. My thought is that you have a set of eyes on a rarely observed area of the facility. On the odd chance you are developing an infestation of some kind, you have a chance of discovering it. Same goes for leaks in walls, roofs, or perimeter. Pulling objects out once a year for a good cleaning also gives you the opportunity to make sure your stock is rotated, whether that is packaging materials or other items.

Kind Regards,
S.

[Shyguy77]

Hey Everyone,

I am wondering how in depth a cleaning schedule should be for a warehouse. All products or ingredients stored in the warehouse are covered and dont pose any risk to contamination. We already have certain cleaning procedures in place like mopping, sweeping, sweeping under pallets and cleaning the racks periodically. My question is should we go as far as to clean the rafters, electrical conduit, walls etc? Thanks for any input

Andy

I agree with Sentanta.
You could even go as far as adding the areas of the warehouse to your master sanitation schedule. This way you have it done on an assigned frequency. You never know what an auditor may find while wandering through the warehouse.

Also dont forget your lights, fans, docks......

[Pandy]

yea i agree. i was trying to omit it from my cleaning schedule due to how time consuming it is for two people to do and the low risk of it. Also debris can fall from the rafters necessitating objects below to be cleaned off as well. Luckily it is the slow time of the year for us right now so it could be accomplished. Thanks for the input

[john123]

If you can defend the "low risk" part of it, set the schedule as quarterly or even bi-annually. We have a storage areas and production area in our facility with different cleaning requirements, and our defense is that no product is allowed to be opened in a storage area. To tie into that, we also train employees to visually inspect packages before opening them in a production area (i.e. prior to dumping product into a feed hopper for processing) It has appeased many auditors.

[Chris @ Safefood 360°]

Hi Pandy,

I agree with the input above regarding omitting it entirely from your overal cleaning program. I would point you directly to the FDA 21CFR110 which requires that storage and transportation of finished food be under conditions that will protect food against physical, chemical, and microbial contamination as well as against deterioration of the food and the container.

Depending on your sector, there may be additional federal guidance regarding the condition of your warehouse and storage facilities. Depending on if there is a particular food safety scheme you want to be certified under, there may be a lot of additional guidance regarding the condition of your warehouse and storage facilities.

-Chris

[Tony-C]

Hey Everyone,

I am wondering how in depth a cleaning schedule should be for a warehouse. All products or ingredients stored in the warehouse are covered and dont pose any risk to contamination. We already have certain cleaning procedures in place like mopping, sweeping, sweeping under pallets and cleaning the racks periodically. My question is should we go as far as to clean the rafters, electrical conduit, walls etc? Thanks for any input

Andy

Hi Andy,

I would be scheduling a 'high level' clean based on build up of dirt/debris, typically every 6 months or annually.

Regards,

Tony

Edited by Tony-C, 02 February 2013 - 04:49 AM.