Menu

Hygiene Management in HACCP premises – module 5

This page summarizes the contents of module 5 on hygiene management in HACCP controlled food premises. For managers in cleaning businesses, hygiene management implies to ask for documents from this system, in particular for cleaning and waste management plans. For cleaners in cleaning enterprises, hygiene management implies vocational training on the hygiene of foodstuffs, proper work after specifications, as well as regular checks on the working result. The module gives an overview of hygiene management systems based on HACCP principles, and highlights some of its core elements. A case study finishes this module in order to show the effect of HACCP on hygiene management in manufacturing of meat and meat products. For students and apprentices, the slides presentation of the module is available as a PDF file. Teachers should have a look at the summary of didactical components before downloading the original PowerPoint presentation from the restricted area. When you have used the module, we would appreciate your feedback submitted in the online evaluation form. Filling in the module evaluation form will help to improve the quality of the training course.

Hygiene management in food industry

A hygiene management system is a system to implement the hygiene requirements during manufacturing and preparation of foodstuffs and a common feature in cafeterias, supermarkets, and staff canteens. Such systems are a tool to proof compliance with the general and specific hygiene requirements laid down in Annex II of the European Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.  In general, guides of good hygiene practice assist companies in setting up their own system, as they define the current state of art within the business. Cleaning businesses should keep in mind, that there is no such thing as the HACCP system, but a variety of systems, based on risk analysis and hazard control. After risk analysis, each food premise has developed an individually crafted system with monitoring activities at critical control points. For the cleaner, monitoring of processes at certain points implies more controls of the success of their cleaning work. This can be done by visual inspections, but also by microbial testing or testing of cleaned surfaces for remainders of soil and chemical agents.

HACCP systems

HACCP systems according to the Codex Alimentarius are build of a number documents, which describe how the company’s and the legislator’s requirements on safe and hygienic production will be achieved in practice. A core system would consist of a corporate policy document and a number of hygiene plans, at least one plan on common hygiene, personnel hygiene, and documentation on hygiene training. Depending on the size and types of products being manufactured, current systems commonly consist of these documents:

Requirements on staff hygiene training might not be same all over the European Union. Hygiene training however, will cover subjects like hygienic hand washing, nail care, and the use of work wear. For further details, see German standard DIN 10514. The requirements on health status of persons working with foodstuffs are regulated by law, in Germany the law on prevention of infections (Infektionsschutzgesetz, IfSG). In other countries, there are similar laws. These laws suggest for instance vaccination of personnel (depends on the common risk of infection) and define in which cases workers must be expelled from working with foodstuffs (e.g. § 43 IfSG). Cleaning and disinfection plans are always adapted to the situation in the food premise. Commonly, cleaner and disinfection plans give information on when, how, and how often to clean. In order to tender for a contract, a cleaning businesses should request the appropriate document. Another important source of information is the waste management plan, which describes how waste disposal is organised. One of the most visible results of working in a HACCP controlled environment will be the presence of checklists. Checklists principally will follow the design presented at slides no 23 and 24, and can be used as a tool for monitoring of cleaning and disinfection measures.

Summary

Hygiene management systems in food industry have to implement the general hygiene requirements given in the Regulation (EC) 852/2004. The uniting element of such systems is hazard analysis, risk evaluation and introduction of a monitoring systems with critical control points (HACCP). In some areas, cleaning and disinfection might be a critical process, provided there is no further step to reduce a hazard to an acceptable level. Critical control points are personnel hygiene measures, and the application of chemical substances. Hence, cleaners in food premises work with processes that require constant monitoring by the food business operator. The need for documentation often results in checklists.