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zoelawton

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 06:42 AM

Morning everyone, 

 

I've been having some difficulties for a while now in regards to cleaning mop heads.

 

We are an egg packing site, therefore we have food contact surfaces to clean, and floors with cracked eggs etc. (fortunately we have no CCPs)

 

I recently implement colour coding cleaning equipment, for example all food contact / machine surfaces are cleaned with blue cleaning equipment and floor surfaces are red. 

 

As you can imagine, the food contact / machine mops end up soaked in liquid egg. 

 

These are supposed to cleaned thoroughly at the end of each clean down by the person that used it and hung up - now I'm hoping we've all been in a similar situation where employees don't necessarily do as they're supposed to. 

 

The mops are hung on hooks in a urinal (obviously this was bought for this purpose - not a used one ha!) however due to the lack of cleaning of the mops / the high content of egg on them even after rinsing, they attract flies.

 

We have replacement mop heads and they are changed regularly however this doesn't seem to be enough. 

 

I always try and think of things from a harsh auditors point of view. If i came into this facility and saw that a mop head was used on a food contact surface / machine, rinsed, hung up for 24 hours, used again, rinsed, hung up for 24 hours, used again, etc. etc. would i frown upon that? Probably. 

 

My question basically is - how do other sites clean their equipment? or do they just replace it after one use? (this could be slightly costly)

 

Can anyone please enlighten me on how they run things in regards to cleaning equipment?

 

***when i say food contact surface, please bare in mind an egg is in it's own protective shell, and the amount the egg touches the machine is limited, it's more so primary packaging. There is no open raw material and no CCPs***

 

 

Thank you all in advance, my technical manager is working from home due to Covid-19 and i'm trying to get things straight for a production manager that has no idea about standards, (BRC), policies and procedures etc.



Charles.C

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 06:56 AM

Morning everyone, 

 

I've been having some difficulties for a while now in regards to cleaning mop heads.

 

We are an egg packing site, therefore we have food contact surfaces to clean, and floors with cracked eggs etc. (fortunately we have no CCPs)

 

I recently implement colour coding cleaning equipment, for example all food contact / machine surfaces are cleaned with blue cleaning equipment and floor surfaces are red. 

 

As you can imagine, the food contact / machine mops end up soaked in liquid egg. 

 

These are supposed to cleaned thoroughly at the end of each clean down by the person that used it and hung up - now I'm hoping we've all been in a similar situation where employees don't necessarily do as they're supposed to. 

 

The mops are hung on hooks in a urinal (obviously this was bought for this purpose - not a used one ha!) however due to the lack of cleaning of the mops / the high content of egg on them even after rinsing, they attract flies.

 

We have replacement mop heads and they are changed regularly however this doesn't seem to be enough. 

 

I always try and think of things from a harsh auditors point of view. If i came into this facility and saw that a mop head was used on a food contact surface / machine, rinsed, hung up for 24 hours, used again, rinsed, hung up for 24 hours, used again, etc. etc. would i frown upon that? Probably. 

 

My question basically is - how do other sites clean their equipment? or do they just replace it after one use? (this could be slightly costly)

 

Can anyone please enlighten me on how they run things in regards to cleaning equipment?

 

***when i say food contact surface, please bare in mind an egg is in it's own protective shell, and the amount the egg touches the machine is limited, it's more so primary packaging. There is no open raw material and no CCPs***

 

 

Thank you all in advance, my technical manager is working from home due to Covid-19 and i'm trying to get things straight for a production manager that has no idea about standards, (BRC), policies and procedures etc.

 

For seafood, IMEX a common approach is to wash followed by soaking in a "few percent" sodium hypochlorite  solution overnight. Good smell for urinal also !

 

Do you not use any detergent ? Will not remove egg ? High pressure cleaner ?

 

I hope you have a good waste treatment system.


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


zoelawton

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 06:59 AM

For seafood, IMEX a common approach is to wash followed by soaking in a "few percent" sodium hypochlorite  solution overnight. Good smell for urinal also !

 

Do you not use any detergent ?

 

Thanks for this, as far as i am aware we are not allowed to leave mops out to soak overnight.  We do use detergent, foodsafe and i believe foodsafe stuff isn't the strongest for obvious reasons. 

 

The production manager is considering washing them in a washing machine??



Charles.C

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 07:02 AM

Thanks for this, as far as i am aware we are not allowed to leave mops out to soak overnight.  We do use detergent, foodsafe and i believe foodsafe stuff isn't the strongest for obvious reasons. 

 

The production manager is considering washing them in a washing machine??

 

^^^^^^

 

Why ? Sanitation usually = cleaning > sanitize

 

After you clean, is egg residue still visible ?

 

PS - you won't see too many flies diving into 10,000 ppm chlorine.


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


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SQFconsultant

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 01:03 PM

Charles said --- PS - you won't see too many flies diving into 10,000 ppm chlorine.

 

Lovely dry sense of humor, thank you!


All the Best,

 

All Rights Reserved,

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http://www.GlennOster.com

 


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Posted 22 May 2020 - 01:14 PM

Hi Zoe, good topic.  Can I challenge the use of mops at all?  I wouldn't think the mop is doing anything for you other than spreading the mess around and causing these issues. 

 

It may be better to use something like brushes with water and then squeegees. These would be more effective at removing the product in the first place and then are very easily cleaned.  Cleaning a mop is a nightmare as you have experienced and isn’t really possible unless they are machine washed.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Wes Carlyon



zoelawton

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 01:18 PM

Hi Zoe, good topic.  Can I challenge the use of mops at all?  I wouldn't think the mop is doing anything for you other than spreading the mess around and causing these issues. 

 

It may be better to use something like brushes with water and then squeegees. These would be more effective at removing the product in the first place and then are very easily cleaned.  Cleaning a mop is a nightmare as you have experienced and isn’t really possible unless they are machine washed.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Wes Carlyon


 

 

 

 

Hi, yes, i had a conversation with the production manager about an hour ago about how actually the mops aren't necessary, purely habitual! 

 

We use scrapers and squeegees and have concluded that we can just use the jet washes instead of mops, maybe having a few mops for certain circumstances. 

 

We machine washed the mops today to what would happen and it just didn't get the residue inside the mops.



wescarlyon

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 01:49 PM

 

Hi Zoe, good topic.  Can I challenge the use of mops at all?  I wouldn't think the mop is doing anything for you other than spreading the mess around and causing these issues. 

 

It may be better to use something like brushes with water and then squeegees. These would be more effective at removing the product in the first place and then are very easily cleaned.  Cleaning a mop is a nightmare as you have experienced and isn’t really possible unless they are machine washed.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Wes Carlyon

 

 

Hi, yes, i had a conversation with the production manager about an hour ago about how actually the mops aren't necessary, purely habitual! 

 

We use scrapers and squeegees and have concluded that we can just use the jet washes instead of mops, maybe having a few mops for certain circumstances. 

 

We machine washed the mops today to what would happen and it just didn't get the residue inside the mops. 

 

 

 

 

Very good, certainly a better option I'm sure.  

 

If whatever reason a mop is needed, a Microfibre one would at least clean and dry a lot better than a string one….ideally hot/machine wash as well and put on an inspection record.



Charles.C

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Posted 22 May 2020 - 05:45 PM

Hi Zoe,

 

Good to know the problem mainly solved itself.

 

May I ask - What is the "jet" ?

 

You presumably still need a sanitizer for the squeegees.

 

Looks like the Sanitation Manual  is in need of some updating. :smile:


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


zoelawton

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Posted 25 May 2020 - 07:55 AM

Charles, I meant a jet wash, like a power washer? Like a super strong hose. 

 

I think we have been busier than ever lately which has resulted in extra cleaning required but also results in lazier staff / staff who rush to get home instead of cleaning. 



Charles.C

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Posted 25 May 2020 - 11:48 AM

Charles, I meant a jet wash, like a power washer? Like a super strong hose. 

 

I think we have been busier than ever lately which has resulted in extra cleaning required but also results in lazier staff / staff who rush to get home instead of cleaning. 

Yes,  IMEX  medium/high pressure mobile washers are invaluable as long as spray contamination is avoidable and they are industrial "duty".


Kind Regards,

 

Charles.C


McForman

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Posted 28 May 2020 - 01:29 PM

Hi Zoe, 

 

I worked in an Egg Packing Facility for 10 years and designed and was in charge of the  SQF program for 4 years I am now into Beans and under BRC but I now what you are talking about;), So We used squeegees, small hand squeegees and ones with long handles  to get everything from under the packers, and then we would still mop up, I had the mop heads serviced out once a week through Cintas (add to approved service supplier) , it took care of the sanitation and the Fly problem (we were processing straight from the coops so helped with the SE program also), dirty mops were placed in a sealed trash can (used only for mops) and news one changed everyday, to clean the packers, scales,  and food contact surfaces we used good old fashion paper towel one time use throw it away.

 

Best Regards



Ryan M.

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Posted 28 May 2020 - 02:41 PM

Eliminate mops if you can; best option by far.  Take care in using a pressure washer, or a hose with strong pressure, especially on the floor because you can spray and aerosolize contaminants from the floor to equipment, persons, etc.

 

I personally am not a fan of pressure washing, but I can imagine the stuff you are dealing with.  Do you have a chemical supplier?  Someone that can assist you with this and come into your facility and provide recommendation?  I am thinking you may opt to use a foamer (chemical) or light sprayer with chemical solution and pre-spray / foam the target area to clean, allow to soak, then brush clean.  With the right chemical, concentration, and applicator you can do very well with this method.



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Posted 10 June 2020 - 09:12 PM

Yes, do be careful with pressure washing.  It can spread a small isolated pathogen problem from one point to throughout the room in a matter of minutes and can make for an environmental monitoring nightmare.  I had a customer that used power washing and they rarely passed their internal Environmental Monitoring Program testing.  





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