CLEANING PROGRAMMES AND SCHEDULES
This section once again uses an imaginary meat plant or food factory (but it can equally be adapted to accommodate the needs of a shop but in such a case perhaps the foam cleaning system would be omitted). It may appear to be quite formal but it is intended that it should demonstrate the manner and determination that is required to maintain the high standard of hygiene that is necessary to achieve a good reputation. The first part deals with the very basic aspects and is followed later by more detailed work instructions and should be kept in a style that can be read and understood by anyone who may be involved in doing the cleaning but should also be written in a manner demanded to provide the detail necessary to impress both customers and government / local government enforcement officers.
WHAT IS A CLEANING PROGRAMME?
The purpose of regular, planned cleaning is;
i. That by regular attention to detail, the high standards required for the premises may be maintained.
ii. That the well-being of the plant, the customer and the ultimate consumer of meat based products produced in the plant is made more secure.
iii. That the maintenance of goodwill between the organisation and the customers of the organisation is secured, due to the customers awareness and confidence that products are produced in clean premises by a hygiene conscious work force adopting clean practices in order to produce a safe, wholesome, good quality product.
iv. To receive and maintain the goodwill and confidence of Central and Local Government bodies (and in turn, the customers) in that the cleaning satisfies all aspects of applicable legislation (and beyond!).
Cleaning must be structured and must follow a definite plan in order to satisfy the purpose of the task. Failure to clean properly is, perhaps, even worse than not cleaning at all - at least if no cleaning is done, other workers are then aware that cleaning MUST be done before any work involving food may commence.
WHAT IS CLEAN?
"Clean", in the context of the meat plant must be considered as two separate items:
1. An ongoing practice of working tidily, with both clean equipment and clean personnel, often referred to as ‘clean as you go’ and that is a definite facet of a good workman. A more inclusive good 'dry clean' whenever breaks are taken should be established as a ‘norm’.
2. At the end of the working period, shift or day, an effective removal of all visible dirt and soil, followed by a satisfactory washing process, rinsing with clean water, checking for visual cleanliness and then the application of a surface sterilant. It is rather pointless to apply a sterilant until satisfied that the dirt has gone since sterilant applied to the top of dirt merely sterilises the top of the dirt but not the soiling either in or beneath the dirt (Sterilants may well destroy some of the bacteria, but it must be remembered that even the foulest of dirt, sterilised to become free of bacteria, still remains what it was in the first instance, the foulest of dirt). A clean item then must be one that is not only free of bacterial contaminants but is also free of aesthetically unpleasant and undesirable materials.
Cleaning referred to in 1 above is a separate and ongoing programme that must be dealt with separately for which a separate work instruction will need to be prepared to cover working practices in general. Due to the extreme variation between plants it isn’t practical to give an example but, using a similar pattern to the work instructions for the ‘final clean’, an adequate work sheet can be prepared. The "end of the day" or "end of the shift" cleaning referred to in item 2 is the subject dealt with in this part and will, in itself, need to be subdivided both for the various areas that may be involved; Lairages, slaughter halls, gut rooms, offal rooms, quartering areas, various chillers and freezers, hygiene rooms, cutting rooms, production rooms, packing rooms and the associated areas (including staff facility areas). It will also need to provide guidance about the frequency and detail of certain aspects of cleaning in these areas. This latter part is "the schedule" and may, from time to time, be referred to in the main part of the text.
While all parts of the plant must adhere to the same basic principle of cleaning, due to the nature of some particular items of equipment, the detailed requirements of some such items will probably require a separate and more specific work instruction to provide the information about the cleaning to be done. In these cases it will be necessary to examine the item in more detail before preparing a cleaning programme for the item and any ‘unusual’ factors about the item need to be noted. Are there any Health & Safety attributes that need to be considered? Is there a need to isolate from electricity? Are there age restrictions on cleaners working with the type of equipment (in general, it is advisable that persons under the age of 18 should not be dismantling and cleaning equipment that has sharp blades for example) The manufacturers of the various pieces of equipment should be able to help in part but do remember that in many cases, engineers are excellent at making equipment ‘to do a job’ but unfortunately they do not always take into account some aspects of the items, such as cleaning.
In view of the ongoing developments which may take place within a meat plant, some individual items may be either removed or new ones be introduced and the inclusion, or indeed the omission of particular items, from any written programme must be accepted and verbal advice and instruction on cleaning it must be accepted until a suitably revised written instruction is provided. The absence of any written instructions must, under no circumstances, be taken as a reason for omission of cleaning being done.
Where necessary, any equipment that is sensitive to any particular cleaning method, and installed prior to the issue of any written cleaning instructions should be cleaned in a manner advised by verbal instructions.
Of vital importance in all cleaning operations in a programme is that of ensuring that NO cleaning should be attempted in any area if to do so would in way place any meat (or other food) at any risk of contamination and this must generally be taken to mean that the room must be cleared of meat (and other foods) prior to the main cleaning taking place, excepting that the first part of the cleaning operation which does not involve the use of chemicals, detergents or copious amounts of water, i.e. removal of debris and loose soil by such means as by dry sweeping or by using a squeegee may be permitted provided that it is not carried out in close proximity to any open meat or food. A further exception is that of cleaning in the Packaging Storage Area and Staff Facilities (Details of which are provided for later in the text) where common sense should prevail.
GENERAL PROCEDURE (DAILY)
All workers must recognise the importance of 'clean as you go', the very essence of a good workman. Such a workman ensures that his place of work remains clean throughout the day. Daytime cleaners will remove waste materials from the plant and attend to minor surface cleaning using appropriate materials, and keeping away from exposed food. Dry cleaning is the removal of surface soils by brush or squeegee and is an accepted practice provided it is not done in the immediate area of any food intended for human consumption. Dry cleaning may be carried out throughout the working day and although the items and methods may not be specifically included in the programme, a second schedule may be attached at a later date to include those items The main areas included here in these examples cover the processes of 'wet cleaning' or to be more precise, 'detail' cleaning.
All areas will be cleaned at the end of the final work period for the particular area and, on completion of that cleaning, will be checked for effectiveness of cleaning, using a standard checklist, prior to the commencement of any further work. The production manager for the area cleaned will additionally acknowledge receipt of a clean area by countersigning the cleaning check-sheet (which should then be returned to the Technical Department for checking and filing.) It must be stressed that the signatures of approval of both the person who checks at the end of the cleaning operation AND the production manager involved, prior to the start of production, will be an indication of their own standards and any evidence that the forms (and importance of cleaning) have been taken lightly may be reflected in the staff records of those involved (and may be referred to in any future staff appraisals which may affect those persons development within the organisation.
The following sample cleaning programme obviously relates to a larger type meat plant and while it may be possible for it to be adapted to the needs of a slaughterhall, a cutting room or indeed any more general meat processing area, it is not quite as reasonable for it to be used, for example with a butchers shop (few butchers shops would be able to use a foaming system to clean walls etc. Other parts may certainly be adapted and adopted as needed). However, while it does have some limitations in that direction, it is quite easy, with a little thought, to adapt it for smaller premises, and any such extension attempted should only serve as a demonstration of the effort of the individual to deal with this very important subject.
PROGRAMME
Cleaning will be carried out as follows:
1. All loose debris must be removed PRIOR to the use of any water.
2. Since the drainage system is, essentially, designed for the purpose of removing liquids, debris and meat particles should NOT be swept on top of drain covers for collection. Floors should have been designed to fall towards the drains and therefore it is sensible that dirt and debris should be swept downwards but only to a point NEAR the drain cover for their collection and removal.
3. All holders for used towels must be removed (if indeed they are of such a type that they may be removed) and emptied and any unused paper towels must be taken from their holders and be removed to a safe place for replacement after completion of the cleaning process. All used paper towel receptacles will be removed to an appropriate disposal area.
4. All drains containing solid traps must be lifted and any filter type container’s be removed for emptying. When cleaned they should be replaced and the procedure be repeated again AFTER the washing of the premises and BEFORE application of sterilants.
5. All gridded gulley’s must have the grids removed in order that both the grid and the gulley may effectively be cleaned and sanitised.
6. All accessible walls, pipes, ledges and static fixtures (excluding any electrical, electronic devices or other items which are sensitive to such procedures) should be thoroughly wetted with water, hot water when available.
7. A foam detergent should be applied evenly to all surfaces, commencing at the highest point and working downwards. The foam must be left in contact, in order to react with soil on the surfaces, for a minimum of 15 minutes. During this period of ‘waiting’, other items may be given some cleaning attention.
8. Using hot water pressure lances, thoroughly wash all of the foamed surfaces, commencing at the highest point and working downwards. Any stubborn soils that have not loosened and been removed by the hot water lances must receive more detailed attention using brushes or cleaning pads, (whichever is the most appropriate for the task) with hot water and detergent solution.
NOTE: When washing floors and lower level items, great care must be taken to prevent 'splash' contamination onto other cleaned areas. Any area so contaminated by 'splash' will be required to be re-cleaned.
9. All individual items, as listed in the sections dealing with each area, must be thoroughly cleaned prior to the next stage (sterilant application).
10. A suitable and appropriate sterilant solution (such as those based for example on quaternary ammonia, amphoteric agent or sodium hypochlorite) should be applied by spray to ALL equipment, fixtures and fittings excepting those items that, by nature of manufacture or operation may be damaged by such a solution. Any items that may not be sprayed should be wiped with a sanitising wiper. The sterilant solution should be allowed to remain on the surfaces until prior to commencement of work when it may be removed by means of simple rinsing by sprays.
11. The sterilant used should be changed on at least one day in each week, e.g., if quaternary ammonia based sterilant is normally used then on one day each week, sodium hypochlorite sterilant will be used, or vice versa.
12. Prior to the application of the sterilant, the premises, fixtures and fittings must receive a visual inspection and any area or item that is found to be in an unclean condition must be re-cleaned completely.
13. All hand wash stations, equipment sterilises, nailbrushes (where used), towel holders, used towel bin holders and soap dispensers should receive detailed inspection and paper towels should be replaced after cleaning of the area is completed. Any nailbrushes showing any signs of wear should be replaced as required.
14. At the completion of cleaning and prior to any re-commencement of work, any floor surface that may potentially be slippery due to the presence of water should have all surplus water removed by squeegee or other mechanical implement.
15. All detergents, sterilants and soaps must be held in a secure place in order to comply with the basic requirements of good hygienic practice.
16. All drums of detergent, sterilant and soaps should be removed at the end of cleaning and no such product should be brought into, or remain in, any food areas while any open food is present.