Food Safety Rules Every Manufacturer Needs to Follow
If you are in the food manufacturing business, there are plenty of essential food safety rules that need to be followed at all times.
Rules regarding the process of handling, cooking, and manufacturing food are put in place to keep you safe, your employees safe, and your customers safe.
Read on to learn more about the food safety rules that all manufacturers should follow to be sure you’re doing everything the right way.
Avoid Cross-Contamination
Certain foods should always be kept separately from other foods to avoid the risk of cross-contamination or the spread of germs. Food like raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs all pose an increased risk of contamination.
To ensure your manufacturing facility is following the proper food safety rules, keep these types of foods separated from each other. Make sure all preparation areas and tools like cutting boards are color-coded so that different foods don’t accidentally come in contact with others.
Talk to your staff and make sure everyone is properly trained about the risks associated with cross-contamination. Encourage a rigorous cleaning process that keeps meats, chicken, seafood, and eggs prepared in the right way.
Preventing cross-contamination also applies to other food ingredients. All spices and other edible materials should be stored away from cleaning supplies and raw meat. For example, the cleaning closet in your facility should be located near the kitchen or food prep areas to help keep the threat of cross-contamination to a minimum.
Practice Proper Hygiene Food Safety Rules
Anywhere food is present, good hygiene must be adhered to at all times. If you operate a food manufacturing facility, make sure that every single employee understands these rules.
All people who come into contact with food should wash their hands with antibacterial soap and water. The same protocol must be followed after using the restroom.
Hairnets should always be worn inside the facility, and protective gloves are also recommended. Find out what your local, state, and federal laws are regarding food-handling hygiene.
Once you set forth these rules, make sure that they become part of your company policy. Perform re-training or give reminders to employees as needed. When people are clean, the food will stay safe and clean, too.
Keep Good Records and Perform Thorough Training
In order to maintain a safe place for everyone, records should be kept in an official log that documents a variety of information. These logs can be a real lifesaver when it comes to an audit or another official review.
Keep the logs in a place where only you and other managers have access to them. Your logs should include things like records of accidents, employee reprimands or corrective action, and anything you do to make improvements.
Take careful, detailed notes of what happens in your food manufacturing facility. It’s a good line of defense if you ever need to prove that you’re doing things to ensure the safety of all.
Check on the latest food safety rules and laws, and then put them into practice through training. Draft a uniform training manual that applies to everyone, and then make any changes in the future as needed.
When everyone follows the same protocol in regard to food safety, you’ll have a much easier time keeping everyone safe. Re-train your employees as you feel the need just so everyone has a refresher course on the safety ground rules.
Keep It Clean
When it comes to cleanliness, it applies to more than just your food. Make sure that your facility is always clean including the floors, walls, and all machinery.
Have someone who is designated to check on everything within the building in terms of manufacturing machinery to ensure that it’s constantly clean. It may sound surprising, but there are even environmental factors that have significant impacts on food quality.
When your entire facility is clean, it will encourage your employees to be clean, too. It also gives an aura that the food you make and sell is made of the highest quality.
Cleanliness goes beyond the main lobby and warehouse. It also extends to things like pest control, proper food disposal methods, and even employee personal hygiene.
Foster a spirit of cleanliness throughout your company to encourage everyone to keep things in check. Use quality cleaning materials that won’t contaminate the food, but that will be effective at killing germs and creating safe surfaces.
Disinfect all food preparation areas, equipment, and machinery to make sure that it’s free of potentially dangerous germs and bacteria. In addition to overall cleanliness, proper food cooking and storage practices should always be in place.
When you combine good food prep and cooking habits with a clean environment, the result will be safe, delicious food that your customers will eat in confidence. Try to take a proactive approach and make sure that all of your food safety rules are being enforced at all times.
Food Safety Is the Key to Success
When you practice a few food safety rules, your food manufacturing company will produce food that’s good for everyone. Remember to enforce the rules when it comes to things like cross-contamination, food storage, and good hygiene.
Put a thorough training program into place and enforce the rules. Encourage people to follow up, and take good records with a detailed event log in case you ever need it.
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