5 replies to this topic

[keithdd]

Hi All, In the Grains business, processing oat bran, flakes and flour, barley , wheat bran and Pulses. We want to increase sanitation. Any suggestions on a robust cleaning and sanitation program for dry processing esp oats (with emphasis on sanitation) that does not affect the quality and safety of our products. We have in house pest and fumigation control and a pest control contractor but customer complaints (pest infestation - weevils and moths, cfb, cobwebs, woulds, worms and fruit flies all growth stages) are constantly on the rise. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

[fgjuadi]

1. walk around the factoy

2. write *everything* down - overheads, racks, equipment, false ceilings, the tops of mechanical boxes, carts, staircase & mezzanines

3. write down the cleaning frequency next to it

4.  Write down responsibility next to it

 

Congratulations!  You've made a master cleaning schedule.  Now your job is to make sure other departments take care of their cleaning on a regular basis.

[Mr. Incognito]

For cleaning you can use a color coded brush system.  It's nice in the grain industry because you don't need a lot of colors.  One color for the floor and garbage, one color for food contact surfaces, one color for non-food contact surfaces, one color for maintenance.

 

For sanitizing the food contact surfaces you can use sanitizer wipes to make sure any bacteria on the surface is killed and they evaporate quickly.

[teaks]

I think magenta_majors has it right:  Have a master cleaning schedule and follow it.  Regular inspections will tell you if your frequencies need to be adjusted.  I, too, work in a dry enviroment - no washdown -- and we have been able to nearly eradicate stored pest issues (indian meal moth) by  researching pest behaviors, then getting really serious about looking for webbing and other signs for activity to tell us where to step up our cleaning.

 

We, however, don't have to worry too much about pests coming in with our raw materials.  If you think that is a source, find out what your suppliers are doing to ensure clean deliveries to you (and if your grains are coming from some pre-processor, it's possible they can be a resource for you on proper equipment cleaning).

 

Lastly, I would recommend creating some type of activity spreadsheet or database so you can track the type of pest and the locations.  This will really help you pinpoint areas to work on.

 

Good luck!

[Prudence]

I agree that detailed cleaning is the key to SPI control - I suspect that Keithdd may have an extensive dry handling system; elevators, screw/worm conveyors, spouting?

You can find the areas where debris builds up on the building fabric and then supports infestation - and ensure that your cleaning schedule removes the debris before the pests have time to complete a life cycle (for most SPI that's around 4 weeks, flies can be as little as one week).

 

However, it is much more difficult to identify the 'dead spaces' within your product handling equipment which may be allowing product to rest and insects to breed. Those areas are the ones that pose the highest risk to product.

I recommend a systematic inspection of your handling equipment to identify any areas inside the machines that trap product. You then need to either engineer out the dead space, or clean it out regularly enough to interrupt the pest life cycle.

If your pest contractor has staff with good knowledge of SPI, they should be able to help you with this.

[Taste Maker]

Good morning, I am the QA Manager and HACCP Coordinator for a dry goods facility and have dealt with this issue for years. When I first began in this capacity, the weevils would literally be seen flying into the new pheromone traps as they were placed by products. We would have hundreds every week in the monitoring stations. Well, last year I believe that there were only one or maybe two bug complaints from our end. Down from almost one a week during the peak summer season several years ago. One strategy is to begin by identifying the insect and where the infestation is occurring. This can be done by using various books that show good color pictures of the structure infesting beetles. Next, determine the feeding habits of the beetle. Using a flow diagram of the different processes, walk thru from the material being delivered at the dock to the storage of the finished product. Begin with the truck inspection process and you may want to open a bag or two from each lot delivered to rule out incoming ingredients. Once you have found the infestation (s) use ICE (Isolate, Control, Eliminate). The bugs will be concentrated in or near the food source. Be sure to keep all garbage cans and outside containers closed (especially in the warm months). Check for holes in screen doors and windows, product build up in hoppers, tops of electrical boxes and tops of pipes. Pay close attention to sealing bags (or use plastic pails with lids to prevent entry) on suspected ingredients. Seal all cracks in walls and floors to prevent pest harborage. Be sure to use received date stickers and rotate inventory as needed. When you start to see numbers increasing and cannot find the source, fumigation may be required. Also inspect the surrounding outside area for standing water or other harborage situations. Don't be too discouraged as every food plant has the same type of issue. Also, inspect some of each outgoing lot for bugs.

 

Good Luck

Taste Maker

Memphis, TN