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• 13. Cleaning and Sanitising

13. Cleaning and Sanitising

Cleaning = physical removal of visible soil.

Sanitising = inactivation of most bacteria left on cleaned surfaces.

What needs to be cleaned?

• Before a formalised cleaning programme can be developed you must have standardised operating procedures.
• Every procedure needs a specific cleaning and sanitising programme. This should state;

• Cleaning procedures must also be in place to cover items not directly related to processing, including electrical boxes, power cables and plugs.
• Supervision and records of cleaning and sanitising operations will provide a high level of assurance that they have been carried out correctly.
• Environmental monitoring for hygiene indicators, such as coliforms or total plate count, can assist in determining whether the cleaning systems are effective.

Cleaning Frequencies

Almost everything will need to be cleaned and sanitised at least daily.

• Many items in the processing plant will need to be cleaned and sanitised whenever they become soiled, e.g., a knife that falls on to the floor, or an emptied bin before reuse.
• Ensure that the processing plant is washed down before breaks. Don’t leave product in-process over breaks. It is better practice for staff to stagger breaks or to ensure that a batch of product has been fully processed before starting a break.
• Some items or areas tend to be overlooked but they also need to be included in a regular programme of cleaning and sanitising, including:

High Pressure Hoses

• Use softer options whenever possible!

For example:

• low pressure/high volume hosing,
• brushing
• sweeping.

Delicate Cleaning Equipment

• Separate cleaning equipment is needed for each hygiene zone to ensure that cross-contamination between zones cannot occur. Ensure that relative cross-contamination risks between the following have been considered when establishing cleaning programmes:

Equipment used to clean the floor and drains must be dedicated to this task and must not be used for any other purpose.

• Use only easily cleaned, non-absorbent cleaning equipment, for example:

• Don’t use cleaning equipment with wooden handles, wooden heads or fibrous bristles.
• Clean and sanitise all cleaning equipment after every use.
• Ensure that all cleaning equipment is stored in such a manner that it will not pose any risk to the processing operation, and so that the cleaning equipment is protected from environmental contamination.

For example, store all cleaned cleaning equipment in a well separated cupboard or room.

Sanitising

• Sanitising will only be effective if the surface being sanitised have already been thoroughly cleaned to remove all product or other residue.
• Sanitisers must only be used at the concentration recommended by the manufacturer.
• Increasing the concentration of the sanitiser will not compensate for inadequate cleaning.
• Combination detergent/sanitisers typically do not produce an effective kill of Listeria. Ensure that each cleaning operation is followed-up with a stand alone sanitiser.
• Fast acting sanitisers will be necessary for sanitising plant prior to short breaks, e.g., quaternary ammonium compounds. Slower acting sanitisers may be suitable for longer breaks, such as over night.
• Refer to Manual 15: Fish-Game-Meat Chemicals for a list of approved sanitisers.