2 replies to this topic

[LGreen]

I'm looking for information regarding hot water steam cleaning in a RTE Popcorn plant and specifications for log reduction of Salmonella spp and Listeria spp due to hot water steam cleaning.  I don't have any experience with this type of cleaning so wanted some information to back up the BRC plan that is currently being worked on.  If there is any insight to research being done on hot water steam cleaning or additional info that can be referenced, I'd appreciate any insight.  

[Dr.Khan]

Hi L Green

 

Please visit the following link found in the forum of this website. It may be useful for you

 

https://www.ifsqn.co...-haccp-hazards/

 

Kind regards

Dr Humaid khan

Managing Director

Halal International Services

Australia

[GMO]

It can be brilliant at killing pathogens if you use it in the right way.  I don't know if you recall the Maple Leaf foods Listeria issue but they devised a technique to heat up difficult to clean pieces of equipment in a bag while pumping in steam.  I've used this in the past with whole pieces of equipment and small parts of it with great success.  Also steam cleaning directed at wheels for sufficient time so the spindle becomes hot has been great at resolving tote bins as a vector.

 

I've also had some failures as well.  Steam cleaning on the floor has been blooming useless.  The machines you get don't have the capacity to belt out enough steam to do it and the floor never gets sufficiently hot.  Steam cleaning large areas as a primary cleaning method?  Also not practical in my view.  Steam is great as a final "hit" and thermal disinfection but not as a primary cleaning method.

 

As for log reductions?  You can get up to 10⁶ with the bagging method I would imagine and I've certainly seen reductions in counts of indicator organisms of the order of 10²-10³ (that's all there was to start with so higher log reductions are eminently possible.)