SITE SELECTION, SANITARY-CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS, RECEIPT AND STORAGE OF RAW MATERIALS,CLEANING OF LOW MOISTURE FOOD MANUFACTURING PLANTS.

INTRODUCTION:

Site selection plays an important role in the development of a hygienic operations.Food facilities should not be constructed near chemical plants that emit noxious odors, or near slavage or water disposal operations.Food products that are relatively high in fat will readily pick up bad odors and flavors, and pathogenic microorganisms can be picked up by the wind and blown on the manufactures products unless special filters are added to the intake air systems.

Drainage is important, as sites located close to standing water with poor drainage are more likely to have Listeria monocytogenes in the facility and on manufactured products.Large bodies of water will attract scavenger birds that carry Salmonella.Standing water provides a breeding environment conductive to insects and provides water to sustain the lives of rodents and other pests.A food manufacturing facility should not be located near existing pest harborages for further protection against pathogenic microorganisms. The selected site should permit future expansion.

Overcrowded facilities are inefficient and pose a sanitation related liability. Water availability and adequate waste disposal facilities should be considered .Parking lots should be well drained to facilitate prompt removal of rainwater. The site should be graded to prevent standing water, which provides breeding sites for insects.

SITE SELECTION:

Nearly level to a sight slope with adequate drainage.Free of springs or water accumulation .

Accessible to municipal services( sewage, police, and fire).

Remote from incinerators, sewage treatment plants, and other sources of noxious odors or pests.Located within an air quality district tolerant of emissions from thermal processing.Located away from area prone to flooding, earthquakes, or other natural disasters.

Exterior design:

The exterior should incorporate smooth, tight, walls impervious to water, and free of ledges and overhangs that could harbour birds. They should also contain sanitary seals against rodents and insects. Driveways should be paved and free of vegetation, trash, and water accumulation areas.

WALL AND FARMING:

Exposed structural members may be satisfactory in non-product areas as long as they can be kept clean and dust free. Reinforced concrete construction is preferred for product area, and interior columns should be kept a minimum. Gaps at doors bases should not exceed 0.6cm and 20 mesh screening should be incorporated. Walls should be free of cracks and crevices and impervious to water and other liquids to permit easy and effective cleaning. Glazed tile for surface finished on processing area walls should be considered. Alternatives to painting in food areas should be considered, beacause paint is inexpensive, it tends to crack, flake, and chip with age and requires frequent maintenance. Insulation should be installed carefully in bakery facilities because it contributes a potential dust and insect harbourage.

CEILING:

The use of suspended ceiling is satisfactory in nonfood areas if the space above the ceiling can be inspected and kept free of pests, dust and other debris.Ceiling panels must be sealed into the grid but be easily removable.

FLOORS:

Floors in wet washed area must be impervious to water, free of cracks and crevices and resistant to chemicals and acids.Floor joints must be sealed, and wall junctions must be covered and sealed.Expensive concrete should be used whenever possible to minimize the number of joints.Floor should be sloped to drains with a pitch of 21mm/m for proper wet cleaning and drainage.Process equipment should be connected to drain lines and drip pans should be used to control floor spillage.Chemical resist floors are mostappropriate for wet areas.Floors in specialized areas such as coolers and freezers, must be constructed with appropriate materials designed for their intended uses and be properly insulated and ventilated.

VENTILATION AND DUST CONTROL:

Dust control is very important.The manufacturing process, by heating the product above the pasteurisation temperature usually kills vegetative organisms, but spores may survive in the interior, especially in relatively soft, high-moisture baked foods. To maintain acceptability facilities must be designed so that finished foods are not contaminated.Which requires superb sanitation design and follow-through procedures , proper ventilation and dust control.The proper selection of temperature/ humidity controls will minimize the opportunity for bacterial growth.

EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATION:

Equipment features that will enhance productivity include separating heating and cooling equipment from the process areas by using a mechanical equipment, high-efficiency motors and electrical equipment, the latest technology in controls and automation to the maximum degree that is cost- effective, and flexible modular design for responding to changing markets and business demands

SANITARY CONSIDERATIONS:

Because an operation such as bread making is fermentation process, it is necessary for facilities such as bakeries to be easily maintained in a sanitary condition.An ineffective sanitary facilities design can result in the growth of wild microbial strains such as Bacillus subtilis or mesentericus “rope” formers, which can degrade product acceptability.

Sanitation features that are integrated into plant design were given:

 Provide adequate space for equipment installation and storage of materials.

 Provide separation of operations that might contaminate food.

 Provide adequate lighting.

 Provide adequate ventilation.

 Provide protection against pests.

The following suggestions should be considered for a viable sanitation program :A full or part-time experienced sanitarian should be incorporated.Cleaning records should be maintained and kept current.

Employees should be trained in and practice good manufacturing practices.

The sanitation program should be periodically evaluated to verify program effectiveness.

RECEIPT AND STORAGE OF RAW MATERIALS

Sampling for acceptability:

The raw materials being received, a sampling protocol should be devised to determine whether products should be accepted or rejected.A statistically valid sample is necessary to determine acceptance or rejection.

Transport vehicle inspection:

Inspection of low-moisture raw materials should begin with examination of the transport vehicle before, during, and after unloading.it is important to check for nesting materials, odor, and fecal material.Pellets and odor may indicate rodents, and feathers or dropping may reveal contamination by birds.

Product evaluation:

An effective food warehouse sanitation program requires that the materials received, including foods and their packaging materials, must not be exposed to contaminants from insects, birds, rodents.Sample taken when materials are received should be evaluated to determine the amount of individual kernels that are damaged by insects.Further examination should be conducted to determined amounts of dust and other foreign materials, webbing, evidence of molds and odors, live and dead insects, rodent droppings and rodent damaged kernels.Product storage and stock rotation: Foods and other materials should be received into a processing plant or warehouse for handling or storage in a way that will facilitate cleaning and the implementation of insect, rodent, and other sanitary controls. Effective procedures for stock rotation appropriate to the specific food should be adopted and implemented.Damaged foods should be promptly detected, indentified and separated from other products for additional inspection, sorting, and disposition.Grain may be fumigated through the use of a modified atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen.Fumigation by inert gases is receiving more attention because of increased restrictions on the use of chemicals .Control of dust in handling and storage low-moisture foods can improved housekeeping and pest control.Dust control is enhanced through suction on grain handling equipment such as conveyors, receiving hoppers, bucket elevators and bins.Sanitation can be attained by proper cleaning of containers washing with a strong alkaline solution or alkali and detergents before use.Hygienic conditions can be enhanced further through the nitrogen blanketing of process and deodorized oils.Precautions are essential during the bottling and emptying of unprocessed, processed, and deodorized oils to prevent excessive splashing and agitation which can potentially promote oxidative deterioration.

Pest control

It is classified into 2 groups based on characteristics of their life cycle.

1. Internal pests: spend most of their life cycle within a whole seed or kernel of grain and rarely feed in processed foods.

2. External pest: normally feed on processed foods and spend most of their lives on milled grains and grain based food products.

Adults of some species can utilize non-food products, especially pollens and molds.

Internal feeders:

Weevils adults rice, maize, and granary weevils range from 0.3 to 0.6cm long.

Rice maize weevils are capable of flight; whereas granary weevils cannot fly.

Lesser grain borer the adult is a cylindrical-shaped, dark brown beetle of 0.3cm long.

Its specializes in consuming grain and grain products and is most commonly found in wheat and wheat based products.

Angoumois grain moth adult moth is small, buff-colored insect with a wingspan of 0.125cm.

The most distinctive identification of this moth is long hairs on the fore and rear wings which gives them fringed appearance.

Corn, barley, rice, rye and oats are their preferred foods.

External feeders:

Indianmeal moth has a wingspan of approximately 0.125cm.A characteristic of this insect and many other stored product moths, is the ability to diapause( slowed or suspended growth or dormancy) can be initiated in response to cold temperatures, large population levels.Mediterranean flour moth wingspan of adult moth is 2.5cm.Floor beetles are approximately 0.3 to 0.5cm long.These beetles are major pests flour.They rely on other insects or rodents to first damage the kernels, since they canot feed on whole grains.

Flour beetles may found in grain fines, peas, beans, other vegetables, dried fruit, chocolate, spices, rodent baits, dried milk, peanuts. Drugstore beetles is 0.15 to 0.35cm long, light brown to red-brown.These beetle feed on spices, tobacco, botanical drugs.These beetles fly and are attracted to light.

Grain beetle

Spider beetle is 0.075 to 0.475cm long.They feed on milled or processed grains, dried fruits, dried meats, etc.

Structure infesting pests:

Such as cockroaches, flies, booklice etc.

They can feed on starches, starchy glues and dead insects.Raw grains and finished food products are vulnerable to this pest.Dry conditions or low humidity stops or retards development or death.

Insect- resistant packaging:

A strategy that should be considered when nonchemical control or exclusion techniques are addressed.It is possible to evaluate effectiveness of packaging materials to determine which will protect the product during storage and shipment.Packaging films differ in their ability to prevent insect entry.Research has indicated the potential for the incorporation of natural chemical repellents into packaging material and new glues and sealing methods to improve the structural integrity of insect-resistant packaging.

House keeping during product storage:

Unsanitary conditions may be prevented through effective maintenance and house-keeping.

Bulk storage areas should be maintained so that they are free of cracks that collect dust and other debris which provide environment to insect growth.Tunnels, gallery floors, and associated areas of storage bins or similar facilities should be maintained in sanitary condition.Periodic inspections are essential part of effective sanitation for stored products.Cleaning and inspection frequency depends on temperature and moisture conditions.

Inspection of raw materials and product storage area:

Inspection should be conducted and reported.

Warehouse should be rated on three levels:

1. Acceptable: if most of the requirements are met.

2. Provisionally acceptable: when corrective measures can and will be taken to attain standards and upgrade to acceptable is possible.

3. Unacceptable: when any of several deviations from standards occur that will result in an unsanitary operation.Inspection of equipment should be performed routinely when the equipment is not in operation.Equipment design also facilitates equipment cleaning during routine housekeeping.

CLEANING OF LOW-MOISTURE FOOD MANUFACTURING PLANTS

Cleaning the manufacturing area of low moisture food plants should be accomplished daily.Some of the cleaning should be done while the plant is in operation to ensure that the facility remains tidy, but most of the equipment cleaning can be combined with routine maintenance operations.Easily stored, conveniently located equipment encourages employees to accomplish the cleaning necessary to control infestation.Dry cleaning is a preferred method for low-moisture food processing plants.When water is introduced to a dry system, bacterial growth starts where water does not dry or all material is not removed from cracks and crevices.Hand brooms, push brooms and dust and wet mops provide the basic equipment used for cleaning .Brushes, brooms and dustpans remove the heaviest debris accumulations and functions well on semi-smooth surfaces floors. In many production areas, vacuuming provides the most acceptable means of equipment cleaning.Vacuum cleaning provides one of the most thorough methods of cleaning because it removes light and moderate accumulations of debris from both smooth and irregular surfaces. Precleaning of utensils and food equipment permits the removal of debris to facilitate further cleaning. Precleaning should involve the scraping of debris on equipment and utensils over a waste disposal unit, scupper or garbage receptacle etc.Wet cleaning is conducted to remove completely loosened organic soils through manual or mechanical operations.A compressed air line is widely used to remove debris from equipment and other difficult to reach areas.Using of compressed air is safer than depending on employees to work from ladder with brush.

Compressed air should be rated at low volume and low pressure to minimize dust dispersal.

Employees who use compressed air should wear safety equipment, such as dust respirators and safety goggles.

CONCLUSION:

 The plant and site should be kept free of liquid or solid emissions that could be sources of contamination.

 Materials that are stored in the open should be stacked neatly and away from building on racks above ground level.

 Activities that may cause contamination of stored foods with chemicals, filth or other harmful material should be separated from the storage and processing operations.

 To conduct appropriate inspections, it is essential to know how to inspect and

what is needed to make a good inspection.

 Cleaning of manufacturing area should be done daily.

 During storage, unprocessed and manufactured products should be protected from contamination through effective housekeeping practices.