Your top Listeria learnings
Just reflecting on some recent Listeria spp. recalls in the media. I've worked in chilled foods for a lot of my career and faced into several Listeria spp. issues in plants.
I thought I could share some of my learnings here and then people can chip in with more things that they've learned.
Barrier control for high care and high risk areas
Firstly, barrier control for me. I always approach it with a "how do I know it's working?" mindset. From a cultural perspective (are people actually compliant) to a physical standards point of view (how well are barriers sealed between high care / high risk and low risk?)
In one plant I was working in, once the sh-- hit the fan, the barrier risk assessment was something I reviewed, in practice, with a team.
What looked simple on paper was anything but. We really started to get our heads around what was happening and why. Also what happened when things were out of the ordinary. So for example, if a machine needed repair, we found the engineers (with the best of intentions) were taking that machine out of high risk and repairing it in the workshop. Why? Because they'd had the risks of metal contaminants drummed into them and so wanted to minimise that risk. Little did they know they were then carrying Listeria back into high risk. Despite a decent surface level clean, we'd often find the wheels of machines which had left high risk were then almost impossible to decontaminate (almost, I have another top tip on that though.)
In other places I've seen changing room benches which are open underneath and so when the floor is cleaned on the "low risk" outdoor shoes side, it washes into high care... :helpplease: But because that normally happened at about 2am, nobody considered the risk.
I've got many more but I'd be really interested to hear yours!
thanks
No problem.
I'll go onto my next topic as nobody else is contributing lol!
Hygienic design and what you do if it's not.
When you're designing machines for high risk and high care areas, they need to be cleanable. But so often quality, food safety and hygiene professionals are involved too late in a project. This can lead to excessive compromise on design and cleanability.
My recommendations:
- Get a cross functional team early.
- Write out your requirements into a user requirements specification (URS) or similar. Include specifics, not just reference to EHEDG, for example, for any kit in a high care or high risk environment, you would need it to be cleanable, made out of 316 SS or similar by agreement. Any hollow sections of framework should have no holes or ingress into it. It should be free draining without niches etc etc. Your other colleagues can include their parts too like throughput, manning, guarding, energy supply etc.
- Once you have that, send to the company and ask them to put their proposed design on paper, this is sometimes called a functional design specification or FDS. This is where if there is something they can't do, you agree it before any steel is cut.
- Get a pre delivery inspection in part build. Early enough for changes to be made.
- Do a final PDI a week before delivery as minimum for last changes.
- Allow time in your installation plan for effective movement into the area with controls and effective cleaning validation.
But what if you're stuck with an old machine with poor design or Listeria issues?
Again get a team together to understand it. Is it possible to strip back to the bones to do some really in depth inspection? Where are the detections and are there indicator organisms telling you a bigger issue? When are the detections? Do a proper toyota production system style root cause analysis on it as a team. It's the ideal tool for the job.
Also one BIG tip I learned from Maple Leaf in a Campden BRI conference. Use steam. They bagged their slicers and essentially cooked them. This meant any contamination deep within the kit was brought up to a temperature where Listeria couldn't survive. I've used this myself on areas which are appalling for cleaning to much success.
Well, you are posting at a rate that makes it hard to keep up! :giggle:
111 posts by GMO, nearest competitor 31.
No problem.
I'll go onto my next topic as nobody else is contributing lol!
Well, you are posting at a rate that makes it hard to keep up! :giggle:
111 posts by GMO, nearest competitor 31.
Fair point. It's a bit feast or famine with me!
Well, you are posting at a rate that makes it hard to keep up! :giggle:
111 posts by GMO, nearest competitor 31.
I figured he quit his job :gleam:
I figured he quit his job :gleam:
Kind of cruel.
Kind of cruel.
But is it wrong? I am saying this with a smile. :lol2:
You DO know Member of the Month is now awarded by Reputation points, yes? :whistle:
But is it wrong? I am saying this with a smile. :lol2:
You DO know Member of the Month is now awarded by Reputation points, yes? :whistle:
Well there goes my changes of getting it again, lol...
I wouldn't take it as cruel GMO. You have lots of great topics and insights. Some people post a lot, some don't. I go in spurts. Sometimes I don't even check the site for months, sometimes I post daily. No worries either way...
Kind of cruel.
Not even a little!
No waking up at an ungodly hour. No silently sighing when you see phone calls come in from certain people because you know it's going to be some new level of nonsense you couldn't have possibly prepared for. No inter-departmental politics and/or communication breakdowns to have to baby-step managers through. No..ok I should stop. :headhurts:
Lack of income would be the only 'cruel' part, but I guess that's a big one..
Not even a little!
No waking up at an ungodly hour. No silently sighing when you see phone calls come in from certain people because you know it's going to be some new level of nonsense you couldn't have possibly prepared for. No inter-departmental politics and/or communication breakdowns to have to baby-step managers through. No..ok I should stop. :headhurts:
Lack of income would be the only 'cruel' part, but I guess that's a big one..
If it wasn't for income, I'd be building hot rods all day...lol.
But is it wrong? I am saying this with a smile. :lol2:
You DO know Member of the Month is now awarded by Reputation points, yes? :whistle:
Perhaps I'm just lonely.
Perhaps I'm just lonely.
It IS a lonely profession. <group hug>