A part of the Foreign Material Control. Based of PrimusLabs's requirements.
4.0 Wood Foreign Materials
4.1 Where ever possible wood is prohibited from entering facility production, storage, maintenance and other areas where product/packaging maybe at risk. Apart from the issue of wooden splinters, wood is often porous and therefore not hygienic.
4.2 The only allowed wooden item in the production area are wooden pallets located at the end of the production line for stacking of finished product cartons. Rules for handling these pallets includes:-
4.2.1 Must be in good repair, no visible splintering wood.
4.2.2 Must be visible clean, no signs of liquids or powders on them.
4.2.3 Staff who handle food are not usually permitted handle pallets. If for any reason a food handler does have to handle a pallet they have to wash their hands before going back to handling food.
4.3 Wooden items that are not allowed in production/storage areas, but are found in the facility in other areas and of special concern:-
4.3.1 Wooden handled cleaning implements e.g. brooms, mops, etc.
4.3.2 Wooden handled knives.
4.3.3 Pencils (also a risk due to snapping lead).
4.3.4 Wooden work surfaces e.g. wooden tables, stacks of pallets.
