Monitoring The Environment In Food Manufacturing Processes

Hygienic audits

According to the current regulations, a food manufacturer is required to control not only the raw materials, the final product but also the whole production cycle. Commission Regulation (EC) 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs (as amended) introduces, the notion of so called microbiological criteria referring both to food safety and hygiene in the process of its manufacture, which in the EU countries is regulates by the hygiene package. Microorganisms colonizing the surface of workers’ machines, hands, and clothing are often sources of secondary contaminants in raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products, especially those that colonize biological membranes (biofilm). Multilayering of the biofilm structure impedes the effective action of disinfectants, whose effect is usually limited to the top layers of microorganisms. The emergence of resistant strains that grow and develop should not be excluded, as it might be a result of prolonged use of the same disinfectants. Such conditions may lead to producing secondary contamination.

 

The degree of surface contamination is also an important indicator of the microbiological purity of the equipment and the correctness of the washing and disinfection processes.

 

Our clients are offered assistance in finding sources of microbiological hazards. Our services include a comprehensive service of verification of the correctness and effectiveness of cleaning processes, with particular emphasis on cleaning and disinfection processes, cleaning products and disinfectants used, microbiological analysis of environmental studies, identification of phenotypic characteristics of isolated microorganisms and identification of interdependencies, identification of hazard sources and recommendations for environmental hygiene.