Food Production Equipment and Utensils

MODULE 11 ​ What are equipment and utensils? Equipment and utensils are a set of assets used by a food production plant to carry out daily or ordinary activities within the value chain. These activities include: Food processing Packaging Storage of raw materials, works in progress, and f...

MODULE 11 ​ What are equipment and utensils? Equipment and utensils are a set of assets used by a food production plant to carry out daily or ordinary activities within the value chain. These activities include: Food processing Packaging Storage of raw materials, works in progress, and finished products Logistics and transport Equipment and utensils must comply with the Sanitary Design program, which establishes the set of characteristics and conditions that buildings, facilities, machinery/equipment, and utensils dedicated to manufacturing, processing, storage, transport, and distribution must meet in order to prevent physical, chemical, and biological risks that could affect the quality and safety of food products. Equipment and utensils can be classified as: Ancillary equipment Utensils used by labor/personnel (hand tools) Machinery and its parts Ancillary equipment includes (nonfood- and food-contact equipment): Motors Pumps and air compressors Piping and fittings Steam generation equipment (boilers) Instrumentation and control devices Conveyors, chutes, tankers, silos, bins Utensils used by labor/personnel (hand tools): Spatula Brushes Cutters Peels Spoons Straight tongs Rolling pins Whips Scales Hydrometers  Liquid measuring cups Manual thermometers Machinery and its parts include: Fermentation tanks Mixers/Kneaders (planetary/spiral) Dough pumps Heat exchangers for liquid products Dividers, rounders, molders, panners Proofers Ovens Slicers Packaging lines Pans, trays, decks, tables PERSONNEL No person shall work in a food service booth while infected with a communicable disease that can be transmitted by or while afflicted with a boil, an infected wound, or an acute respiratory infection. No person suspected of being affected with a disease or condition shall be working in a food service booth. The food handler representative or person in charge of the food service booth shall have the responsibility to remove a food handler if he/she has reason to suspect that he/she has contracted any such communicable disease or has become a carrier of such a disease. Personal Hygiene Food handlers shall wash their hands thoroughly with soap and warm water: Before starting work After visiting the toilet After coughing or sneezing into the hands or handkerchief Food Handlers Practices: Food handlers shall consume food in designated areas only. Food handlers shall not use tobacco in any form while engaged in food preparation or service, nor while in areas where equipment and utensils are washed. Cleaning and Sanitizing Operations Since cleaning and sanitizing may be the most important aspects of a sanitation program, sufficient time should be given to outline proper procedures and parameters. Detailed procedures must be developed for all food-product contact surfaces (equipment, utensils, etc.) as well as for non-product surfaces such as non-product portions of equipment, overhead structures, shields, walls, ceilings, lighting devices, refrigeration units and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and anything else which could impact food safety. Cleaning frequency must be runs, or more often if necessary). The type of cleaning required must also be identified. The correct order of events for cleaning/sanitizing of food product contact surfaces is as follows: Rinse Clean Rinse Sanitize Cleaning refers primarily to the removal of visible dirt or particles; however, the cleaning process and some products used for cleaning also result in disinfection. Cleaning is normally undertaken on a routine and frequent basis. Cleaning Methods Equipment can be categorized with regard to cleaning method as follows: Mechanical Cleaning. Often referred to as clean-in-place (CIP). Requires no disassembly or partial disassembly. Clean-out-of-Place (COP). Can be partially disassembled and cleaned in specialized COP pressure tanks. Manual Cleaning. Requires total disassembly for cleaning and inspection. Sanitation It is important to differentiate and define certain terminology: Sterilize refers to the statistical destruction and removal of all living organisms. Disinfect refers to inanimate objects and the destruction of all vegetative cells (not spores). It refers to specific measures taken to control, deactivate or kill infectious agents, such as viruses and bacteria. Disinfection is normally undertaken on an infrequent basis, during periodic maintenance checks or after a public health event, such as the suspected carriage of an infectious passenger. Sanitize refers to the reduction of microorganisms to levels considered safe from a public health viewpoint. General types of sanitization include the following: Thermal Sanitization involves the use of hot water or steam for a specified temperature and contact time. Chemical Sanitization involves the use of an approved chemical sanitizer at a specified concentration and contact time. MODULE 12 CREATING SAFE ENVIRONMENT Safety and health programs are recommended for all workplaces—from office buildings and construction jobsites to dairy farms and other industrial settings. These workplace safety programs protect your employees and empower them to confidently complete tasks without fear of injury or death. The occupational safety and health policy defines the goals for the occupational health and safety work in the workplace and for activities that promote the working capacity of the staff. The policy also describes occupational health and safety responsibilities and the way of organizing the cooperation measures. The preparation of the occupational safety and health policy is based on the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The policy is employer-specific and applies to all employers. A health and safety policy sets out your general approach and commitment together with the arrangements you have put in place for managing health and safety in your business. It is a unique document that says who does what, when and how. How to develop a health and safety policy? Your health and safety policy should have three parts, as explained below: Part 1 - Statement of intent In your statement you should list your company's aims for health and safety. You should use simple language. You, as the owner or most senior person in the company, should sign and date the statement. You should also set a review date. Part 2 - Responsibilities for health and safety This section of the policy lists the names, positions and roles of the people within your company who have specific responsibility for health and safety. Part 3 - Arrangements for health and safety The arrangements section gives details of the specific systems and procedures you have in place. Active Systems, that monitor the design, development, installation and operation of management arrangements, safety systems and workplace precautions. Reactive Systems, that monitor accidents, ill health, incidents and other evidence of deficient safety and health performance. 5 Core Elements of Successful Safety Programs Safety Culture Creating a culture of safety can be difficult, but there are five key elements that must be present for a safety and health program to get off the ground. Employee Training And Empowerment Before you can expect employees to follow best practices, you must educate them and empower them Hazard Identification And Control Systems Once your employees are trained, a safety management process must be put in place for them to easily identify hazards and take steps to contain them. Continuous Improvement Safety and health programs don’t fall into the “set it and forget it” category. Leadership and Organizational Buy-In For a safety and health program to be effective, there must be institutional buy-in from the top down MODULE 13 Pests are a threat to food safety. They can and do contaminate food products at all stages of the food chain. Contamination, whether biological or physical, can lead to economic losses and illness. These losses are caused not only directly through spoilage of foodstuffs but also indirectly through loss of reputation and customers. Pest control plays a major part in the protection of food quality and is therefore a service that is of vital importance to the food industry. What are Pests? A formal definition of a pest is “ a plant or animal which is present in such large numbers as to be detrimental to man” a destructive insect or other animal that attacks crops, food, livestock, etc. Pest Management can be defined as the method of reducing or eliminating different types of unwanted creatures such as cockroaches, ants, wasps, bees, spiders, silverfish, termites, bedbugs, etc., from places occupied by humans. It may or may not involve usage of chemicals for impeding the infestation of such organisms and the damage that they might cause. Pest Control vs Pest Management While pest control is a treatment that should eliminate infestation after it has already occurred, pest management seeks to limit the survival and reproduction of potential pests by removing sources of water, food, and shelter.Pest control is typically a one-time treatment; pest management can be ongoing to prevent pest issues before they occur. Why are they Pests ? It has been illustrated that animals are only pests if they are present in circumstances where they can be detrimental to man’s activities. In these circumstances they are regarded as pests for a number of reasons: 1. They transmit disease Rodents have been found to carry up to 22 different types of diseases associated with man. These they carry actively or secretory systems or latently on their bodies as they move in and out of the areas where pathogens are present. Weils disease (Leptospiral jaundice) and Salmonella type bacteria are two of the most common pathogens carried by rodents. Cockroaches are also notorious disease transmitters. Their main means of transmission is on their feet, bodies, mouthparts as they move in and out of disease ridden areas. 2. They contaminate food Food can be contaminated in various forms as a result of pest presence. Droppings and urine are the most common forms of contamination by rodents. However, insect parts, hairs and the dead insects themselves are also major contaminants. 3. They cause damage Rodents are notorious for their habit of gnawing all types of materials not necessarily foods. Rodents have constantly growing teeth which if not kept to an acceptable comfortable length can cause animal much discomfort or even death. 4. They cause bad publicity Any food outlet that is found to be harboring pests will consequently get a bad reputation and lose business as a result of it. In addition, the sight of a single mouse in a room, the presence of wasp buzzing around, birds flying in a restaurant are not uncommon scenarios but which can provoke a range of reactions from person to person. Pre-requisites for Pest Infestation There are three basic requirements of any living organism that if satisfied will ensure the continued survival of that particular creature and the continuance of the species. These requirements are : 1. Sufficient food - Pests will proliferate if sufficient food is available. Food sources that favor pest infestation include : Food in storage Food in preparation Food waste 2. Adequate places to harbor - areas that are open and are easily accessed lie windows, doors and pipes. Crevices, cracks in building structure, dark, dirty and undisturbed areas (under shelves, refrigerator not moved for cleaning) also favor pest proliferation. 3. Access to additional members of the same species with which to mate General Pest Control Methods Conventionally over the centuries, pest control methods involved mainly the use of poisons of some form to control the pests they are directed against. Poisons used were fairly severe and often resulted in more non-targeted animals being killed than the actual rats, mice or insects that they were directed against Pest Control Methods 1. Physical control methods Physical control methods are preferable because the pest is caught either dead or alive thus reducing the risk of food contamination. Examples of physical control methods Sticky fly papers Sticky boards Traps (rodent traps, fly traps) Fly Screens Electronic fly killers Chemical control methods Chemical control methods involve the use of pesticides. Pest Control has been and is still associated with the indiscriminate use of pesticides. However, there has been an increased awareness on the part of the pesticide industry, regulatory authorities and consumers about the potential hazards of the misuse of pesticides.