Allergen cross contamination through Personnel

Hi all,

I would like to know how you all prevent cross contamination occurs through personnel. Eg. If same person is working for different lines Ex:QC personnel who inspect all area?

Thanks

Yamini.

Yamini,

It would all depend on a few specifics (yes, I am sorry 90% of the responses begin this way).

If the worker were moving from a line that contained (milk, wheat) to a line of production that  contained (milk, wheat, soy, egg) then there would be no concerns because you are not introducing any new allergens with the second assignment.  With that obvious exclusion, in order to avoid a cross contamination of allergens into the second assignment, the worker would need to follower proper GMP's while completely changing his/her smocks, hairnets, and any relative PPE while thoroughly washing and sanitizing hands. This is how I have seen this event handled.  

As for QC, the QC technician should perform their duties outside the actual line of production and not come in direct contact with machinery, other personnel, or product going down the line. 

For example: If QC were to need to document say a CCP like the internal temperature of a product after it had been cooked. Someone in production would need to retrieve the requested sample group and set it away from the line of production so that QC could check the sample and then discard the sample without ever coming in contact with the actual production line or personnel working there. This being said, the QC tech would still need to follow smock changing / hand washing procedures if they were moving from low to high risk areas (like from the raw to post temperature CCP area). This is simply a description of what I have seen yet may not specifically apply to your situation.

With more info on your environment, many others here will be able to provide thorough advice and solutions to your valid concern