Intact beef and checking CCPs
I'm looking for the common practice rather than what the regulations are. For USDA and raw intact beef - how often should we check the room temperature and/or product temperature. We process raw chicken and pork but will soon start processing beef items.
Well the plant I work for we do both:
- 2 Operational checklists- twice per shift or 4 times total a day (shift runs 6am-2:30pm and 2pm-10:30pm) and should be below 40F
- Product is checked per LOT# (smallest portion of the whole intact-product temperature will increase quicker than a larger whole intact product) if lot# runs longer than 3 hours we do another temperature check. Our target is 44.5F or below
Well the plant I work for we do both:
- 2 Operational checklists- twice per shift or 4 times total a day (shift runs 6am-2:30pm and 2pm-10:30pm) and should be below 40F
- Product is checked per LOT# (smallest portion of the whole intact-product temperature will increase quicker than a larger whole intact product) if lot# runs longer than 3 hours we do another temperature check. Our target is 44.5F or below
Room Temperature < 40degF ? Really ?
Clearly microbiologically excellent for the Product but Is this legally worker acceptable in US ?
(Must have some good gloves/safety knives ?)
Room Temperature < 40degF ? Really ?
Clearly microbiologically excellent for the Product but Is this legally worker acceptable in US ?
(Must have some good gloves/safety knives ?)
Yes it is pretty industry standard here in the USA. There are some locations that I have visited that is below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Our freezers go down to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes they are provided warm clothing (gloves/jackets) but most of our employees choose to wear long sleeves or light jackets. I personally only wear a light jacket and am completely fine (in the cooler conditions for about 7hours a day).
Yes it is pretty industry standard here in the USA. There are some locations that I have visited that is below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Our freezers go down to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes they are provided warm clothing (gloves/jackets) but most of our employees choose to wear long sleeves or light jackets. I personally only wear a light jacket and am completely fine (in the cooler conditions for about 7hours a day).
Hi cgarcia,
Tough cookies !
We once tried to reduce Packing room temperature below 10degC (already has a temperature "allowance") but found that any Product benefit was outweighed by losses in efficiency/weight inaccuracies due handling problems plus vociferous complaints.
Freezer / Cold Store operators automatically have specialised clothing of course.
Don't get me wrong, it is very difficult to find employees (especially younger ones) that are willing to work in these conditions but once they are here many stay for a very long time.
Hi cgarcia,
Tough cookies !
We once tried to reduce Packing room temperature below 10degC (already has a temperature "allowance") but found that any Product benefit was outweighed by losses in efficiency/weight inaccuracies due handling problems plus vociferous complaints.
Freezer / Cold Store operators automatically have specialised clothing of course.
The majority of our production rooms run about 37 F. We have a blast freezer that is -40 F. Most wear a hoodie under the smock. We provide gloves for them as well. They/you get used to it. For the blast freezer - the fork lift operators where snow type suits which we provide.
A positive note: mask wearing wasn't as difficult to enforce for this reason. We already had some wearing scarves over their mouth.
Like cgarcia said - pretty standard in USDA facilities.