Why cleaning and then disinfection? Food industry
Why cleaning and then disinfection? Food industry
The facilities where food is received, prepared, and sold must be designed in a way that favors and facilitates both personal hygiene and the cleaning and disinfection of premises and equipment.
The facilities where we process food and sold must provide hygienic security. We must design them in a way that favors and facilitates both personal hygiene and the cleaning and disinfection of premises and equipment. The Cleaning and Disinfection Plan (L+D) brings together the set of operations that aim to eliminate dirt and keep the microbial load controlled to a minimum. Cleaning and disinfection must act on the different work surfaces: utensils, equipment, walls, floors, and ceilings… cleaning and disinfection plan.
Cleaning and disinfection procedures must meet the particular needs of each establishment. It is evident that an optimal level of hygiene will give us numerous benefits:
- Improving the acceptability of the product.
- Increase in the conservation of the product.
- Improving relationships with customers.
- Reducing public health risks.
- Increased confidence of agencies and inspectors.
- Decrease in waste.
- Improved employee morale.
- Lower occupational risk.
- Better company image.
- Improve the workplace.
General concepts about cleaning and disinfection systems
Cleaning aims to eliminate organic and/or inorganic dirt adhered to surfaces that serve as food and protection for microorganisms and vegetative strains of pathogens, without altering them, while being especially mindful of the environment.
Disinfection is intended to adequately treat clean surfaces through an effective process that will eliminate or substantially reduce vegetative cells of pathogens and the number of other undesirable microorganisms until the microbial load on surfaces is reduced to levels that are not harmful neither to the health of the consumers nor for the quality of the food. Cleaning program and plan.
Through cleaning, the population of microorganisms on the materials (a term known as Microbial Load) is considerably reduced. In this way, the initial contamination existing for subsequent disinfection is considerably lower and, therefore, these processes will be more effective, since we must eliminate fewer organisms.
Likewise, if this visible dirt is removed, including any traces of blood or dirt, we will eliminate this nutrient broth, which can facilitate the survival of microorganisms that may have survived, providing an opportunity for multiplication. We eliminate what they feed on (blood, proteins, fats, etc.) and where they could take refuge (adhered mineral residues. Lime, etc.) largely avoiding biofilm. Cleaning program and plan.
The presence of organic matter
We can change the effect of disinfectants can by interfering with substances on the surface needs disinfection. To take this effect into account, the Australian standards for biocidal efficacy define the interfering substance to be used and the dirty conditions (clean/dirty) to carry out the test.
It is therefore always advisable to follow the disinfection phase with an optimal cleaning and rinsing phase in order to achieve maximum efficacy of the disinfectant product. Which guarantees that the surface is free of dirt and chemical residues from the detergents used.
Dirt remains can form layers that prevent proper contact of the disinfectant with surfaces and microorganisms and chemicals can react with the biocidal active substance, causing a decrease in its effectiveness. How to make a cleaning and disinfection program.
A thorough cleaning must precede any disinfection
We must precede any disinfection with effective cleaning. Which removes any dirt that may prevent or hinder the action of the disinfectant. Depending on the surface and the dirt that needs treatment, we must choose the cleaning method to ensure that we meet the objective. For the disinfectant to act, it must come into contact with the microorganism, and dirt acts as a mechanical barrier, making contact difficult.
Applying a disinfectant on a surface that maintains dirt is totally counterproductive.
Disinfection will not be effective, and costs will increase.
It is also possible to increase the risk of strains becoming resistant to the biocide. If we did not apply the product. Industrial Cleaning and disinfection protocol in pig farms.
By using disinfectants on clean surfaces, we will avoid these problems. And we will make rational use of them.
The best advice is to disinfect sparingly and use the best criteria. Cleaning and disinfection program.
At SCS Group Integrated Services we have a complete range of industrial cleaning and disinfection services for the food industry. Discover the full range of products that we can offer you. There is something for every occasion.
We hope this article has helped you delve into the general concepts of industrial cleaning and disinfection systems and the basics of carrying out a cleaning and disinfection plan. If you have any questions or suggestions for our next articles, you can visit our site or contact us. We will be happy to hear from you soon.