6 replies to this topic

[QANewHopeMills]

I'm looking into industry standards for validating cleans.  We are a dry food manufacturing plant and currently our method of validating cleans has been through allergen testing.  I'm aware that the industry standards are leaning more towards swap tests instead of actual product tests and I would like to find out what the best most effective methods are for validating cleaning procedures is.

 

Any feedback would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Setanta]

You could do ATP testing to see what kind of activity have on your equipment. Start by checking http://www.charm.com/

 

You could also do SPC (standard plate count) but with dry food, your results will probably be very low.

[trubertq]

I generally use swab tests to determine cleaning efficacy. Have you done a "before and after" set of swabs on anything?

[pooled]

trubertq, do you do in house or 3rd party or a combination of both? In the past I found a combination was preferential, maybe a little overkill but gave me faster notice than just relying on an external lab but that also gave me validation on what I was doing.

[trubertq]

Just 3rd party but I also have start up checks in all sites I work for . I find that if you explain the importance of cleaning, and stress that next to the food safety consultant ,the cleaners are the most important people there  , it ups the game a good deal. 

 

The cleaning in all of my sites is exemplary, and this isn't down to me ( much as I would like to take credit for it) it's down to the guys who do it, and the way the management have allowed them to be trained. I also share the results with the cleaning staff so that they can see if anything goes amiss but can also see all the good results they get.

[Charles.C]

I'm looking into industry standards for validating cleans.  We are a dry food manufacturing plant and currently our method of validating cleans has been through allergen testing.  I'm aware that the industry standards are leaning more towards swap tests instead of actual product tests and I would like to find out what the best most effective methods are for validating cleaning procedures is.

 

Any feedback would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Hi QANHM,

 

I'm not entirely sure as to the exact question you are asking but this file may be helpful -

 

 cleaning validation AIB.pdf   140.76KB   108 downloads

[QANewHopeMills]

thank you all for your feedback!