7 replies to this topic

[QC/WC]

Hello All, 

 

I am striving for SQF Certification at a food packaging manufacturing facility.  The only PPE we have are gloves, hairnets, goggles, back braces and aprons. I am wondering if it is a necessity for us to have a change room? Also, I would like to know if it is acceptable for me as the Quality Leader/ SQF Practitioner to launder the aprons myself as long as I have procedures and effectiveness verification in place. All help and advice is welcome.

Thanks. 

[SQFconsultant]

1. What is the flow right now, as in, where do your employees put these things on, take off again - do they have lockers, etc? Details really help.

2. When you say "yourself" I assume you are talking about your company, yes? If company - yes, fine - if yourself (as in taking stuff home - you really don't want to do this, I have seen it before and it was never a good thing.)

[QC/WC]

Glenn, 

Thanks for your quick reply.

1. We had aprons, but they were cheap and falling apart so we threw them out. Currently waiting on a new shipment of aprons. When staff does where aprons, they put them on at the entrance point of the warehouse (outside of production area). Aprons are kept on hooks on a wall by entrance. Gloves are changed on the floor and they become soiled and hairnets are usually worn all day. If they remove them at lunch they usually keep them and reuse them. 

2. We do not have any laundering facilities on site. Are we required to hire a third party company to clean the aprons?

I may have to leave the office soon, if so I will check for your reply in the am. Thanks. 

[SQFconsultant]

Thanks for the information - I don't live here either, thus I left too, went down the walkway to the den and found out the pandemic was an exercise, oh my, and then we celebrated by working on the website and going to bed rather late.

 

Anyway...

 

Outside of needing to set standards, house rules/basic do this, don't do that - gmp's pretty much.

 

Appears to be potential for unsanitary conditions, meaning minimal controls in place.

 

Let's tackle this part:

 

Hairnets -- hairnets are normally available in a dispenser at entrances to your various areas (that would require hairnets), most companies place a dispenser of gloves (I am assuming you use disposable), ear protectors (as applicable), hairnets, etc at their handsinks - aprons could be on racks in this area as well.

 

Unless of course you have uniforms, in which case, you would need a changing room (area.)

 

Changing rooms normally have lockers where people can store their personal items of course - not sure what provision you have for that.

 

As to hairnets again - they can not be worn all day long, the standard requirements are they are taken off when leaving a gmp area to a non-gmp area (lunchroom, bathroom, outside, etc.) and then a new one is put back on when re-entering a gmp controlled area.

 

As to aprons, you can launder on-site or use a service - there is no requirement by SQF for outside service or on-site service, the requirement is they be maintained and be clean and if soiled during operation a process of exchange for a clean one is needed.

[QC/WC]

Yes, I am currently working on Good Warehouse /Manufacturing Practices. We do you disposable gloves and aprons and they are in dispensers located at warehouse entrances. We do not have uniforms so I do not think we need a change room. We have lockers that are located in our break room for production staff to store personal belongings. Are the lockers okay to be in the break room? 

 

I understand the potential for unsanitary conditions concerning the hairnets. It sounds like the hairnets should be used in a similar way as the aprons. Basically, do not wear them out of the production area. 

 

I will see about finding a launder service. Is there any type of verification that needs to be done to verify the laundering of the aprons is effective?

 

Thanks. 

[matthewcc]

My issue with removing the hairnet as soon as you get outside the production area is that we often have people continuing to wear jackets, such as in the hallway and offices.  It didn't make sense to me to remove the hairnet and allow hairs to get on the jacket.  Is the assumption here that the hairnet is removed at the same time as the jacket, and then the jacket is put in the laundry bin?

[olenazh]

Why should the workers remove hairnets when they're off the production areas? Hairnet's purpose is to restrain hairs to prevent possible food contamination with fallen hair. Gloves - obviously should be changed whenever they're soiled when touching potential sources of contamination, disposable sleeves & aprons - same idea, but hairnets... How can they be soiled when employees're out of production ares?

[SQFconsultant]

Why should the workers remove hairnets when they're off the production areas? Hairnet's purpose is to restrain hairs to prevent possible food contamination with fallen hair. Gloves - obviously should be changed whenever they're soiled when touching potential sources of contamination, disposable sleeves & aprons - same idea, but hairnets... How can they be soiled when employees're out of production ares?

 

Hairnets are removed and changed out because things happen - workers go outside for instance and a bird drops some poop on them, insects get caught in the weaving - all of which gets carried back into production, etc.  

 

I've seen enough swabbing tests to confirm that fecal matter can get onto hairnets that are worn into rest rooms and then taken back into production areas to put on all gmp statement to remove, dispose and replace.