What should you do to prevent metal fragments from contaminating food when opening containers

The least of your worries when production equipment contamination occurs is the cost of repairing said equipment and the lost productivity caused by an emergency shutdown. If contaminated equipment goes unnoticed, the product you ship out to consumers can get contaminated as well, creating a serious public health risk.

So, one of the best things you can do is stop production equipment contamination from happening in the first place. The question is, “how can you prevent production equipment from being contaminated?”

Here are a few key things that you can do:

1: Review Your Basic Maintenance Procedures

Even the most rugged and reliable food processing equipment needs routine maintenance to keep working at peak efficiency and safety.

However, lack of basic maintenance has, historically speaking, been an all-too-common cause of food contamination. As cited by Food Safety Magazine, “A number of foodborne outbreaks have been directly attributed to failure to properly maintain equipment under sanitary conditions.”

For example, say that an industrial mixer has a worn beater. Shavings from this beater could get mixed in with cake batter or bread dough, creating food contamination.

A quick review of your basic maintenance procedures can help prevent contamination by making sure that you’re identifying worn equipment and making the necessary repairs to keep your processing equipment in top shape.

2: Run Contamination Drills

Do your employees know what to do if a tool falls into your production equipment? What is your procedure for making sure that the contaminant is removed from your equipment without causing damage or excessive waste?

If your employees aren’t sure of how to deal with a contaminant falling into the production line effectively, then you’re leaving yourself open to problems when an incident does occur.

To remedy this issue, you should:

1. Make sure that every employee is trained in your company’s procedures for dealing with contaminants in the production line as a part of the hiring process.
2. Run regular drills where you purposefully “contaminate” the production line with an easy to detect component and have your team remediate the problem.

The initial training will make sure that your employees know the correct procedure, and the routine drills will help reinforce the lesson and make sure that employees retain the information.

Eventually, the procedure for removing contaminants should become second nature, improving the speed with which employees respond to an event, and the thoroughness with which they remove contaminants.

3: Use Both X-Ray and Metal Detection Equipment

In recent years, the use of specialized x-ray and metal detection equipment on food production lines has soared. However, these inspection technologies each have their respective limits.

For example, metal detection only picks up metallic objects or objects that conduct electricity. However, they can also generate false positives from the salt and moisture in wet foods, or the iron content in enriched dry foods.

X-ray inspection devices, on the other hand, might have difficulty detecting low-density contaminants such as aluminum which metal detectors could spot easily. However, x-ray machines can detect a wide variety of substances that metal detectors would completely miss (glass, stones, bones, high density plastic/rubber, etc.)

By using both types of detection equipment, you can maximize the range of contaminants you can spot in your production process, reducing the likelihood that contamination will go unnoticed.

4: Use Detectable Components

Wherever you can, be sure to replace the tools used in your production process with specialized, highly detectable components. These specialized components may be optimized for detection by x-ray, metal detectors, or both.

Built with food safety in mind, using detectable components are designed to be easy to spot so that you can remove them quickly before they can cause too much contamination.

For example, if your employees dropped a pen into the production line and it went undetected, the pen could break in your food, leaking ink into the mix and creating small, sharp shards of plastic. A detectable pen would be more likely to set off your contaminant detection equipment, preventing the ink and plastic shard contamination.

These are just a few of the ways that you can stop production equipment contamination and make your packaged food products safer for the consumer. For more product safety tips, check out the Plan Automation blog.

Means any time when you are not receiving, preparing, processing, displaying or transporting food. For example, a container of food on a bench top is being ‘stored’ on that bench top.

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The Code requires a food business to store food in such a way that the environmental conditions under which it is stored will not adversely affect the safety and suitability of the food (see Standard 3.2.2. cl 6(1)(b) of the Code).

As is it not always possible to keep food under the correct environmental conditions while it is being processed, displayed, packaged or transported, this requirement only applies to food when it is being stored.

Some foods must be stored under particular environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, humidity, lighting) to prevent them from becoming unsafe or unsuitable for their expected shelf life. For example, milk that is not stored under appropriate temperature control may spoil prior to its use-by date; potatoes that are stored in direct light will produce toxins.

Food businesses should follow the food manufacturer’s specifications about food storage to ensure the food’s safety or suitability.

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Standard 3.2.2 cl 6(2) of the Code requires a food business store potentially hazardous food under temperature control. If it is food that is intended to be stored frozen, the business must ensure the food remains frozen during storage.

To keep food safe, businesses must ensure that potentially hazardous foods are kept either very cold (5oC or colder) or very hot (60oC or hotter). If a food business stores food between 5°C and 60°C, the businesses must be able to demonstrate that this will not adversely affect the microbiological safety of the food. Further details are at Appendix A.

It is advisable to store food at the storage temperature recommended by the manufacturer of the food.

It is only safe for food to be between 5°C and 60°C for a limited time (e.g. while it is being prepared) because over time pathogenic bacteria can multiply in food to unsafe numbers.

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Standard 3.2.2 cl 7(1) of the Code requires a food business take all practical measures to process only safe and suitable food. When processing food, a business must prevent the likelihood of food being contaminated.

Practical measures that can be taken by the food business to ensure only safe and suitable food is processed include:

• sourcing ingredients from reputable suppliers;
• specifying quality parameters for foods to the supplier e.g. the food must be free from detectable Salmonella bacteria or dried fruit must be free from seeds;
• checking that packaging is intact, if packaging is needed to protect the food from contamination;
• inspecting the food for visible signs of contamination;
• inspecting the food to determine if it is damaged, deteriorated or perished;
• if the food is potentially hazardous, checking that the food has been kept at temperatures that minimise the growth of pathogenic bacteria; and
• removing contaminants that may be present in the food before use (e.g. washing fruits and vegetables).

• ensure that utensils used to prepare raw food are not used to prepare ready-to-eat food unless they have been cleaned, sanitised and dried;
• minimise contamination from food handlers;
• use clean, dry equipment that is in good working order to process food;
• ensure chemicals are kept separate from food processing areas;
• minimise the likelihood of contamination of the areas where the food is being processed including contamination from dirt and dust, pests and foreign objects such as glass and metal; and
• not mix different batches of food (to avoid transferring contamination from one batch to another).

If a particular processing method is generally known to achieve the microbiological safety of a food, a food business must use this processing method. For instance, if a food must be cooked to ensure it is safe to eat, then a food business must ensure this processing method is taken.

For example, if a food business cooks whole chickens, the business must determine how long the chickens need to cook at a particular temperature to ensure they are thoroughly cooked.

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Food businesses may process potentially hazardous food at temperatures that permit the growth of pathogens as long as they monitor the time that food is at these temperatures and keep this time to a minimum. If potentially hazardous foods are outside refrigeration multiple times during preparation, these times must be noted and added together to ensure that they do not exceed safe limits. Note that this only refers to ready-to-eat food and not raw food that will be cooked or otherwise processed to reduce pathogens to safe levels. The total time that ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food can be outside temperature control is discussed in Appendix A.

The time that raw potentially hazardous foods such as raw meat are outside temperature control during processing (which includes preparation) should be kept to a minimum. The main reason is to minimise the growth of pathogens.

Certain bacteria in some fish can produce dangerous levels of histamine (a toxin) if these fish are kept unrefrigerated for too long. Cooking does not destroy this toxin. It is essential that raw fish be kept outside temperature control for a minimum time. Fish that contains dangerous levels of histamine may not appear spoiled.

Thawing Food

Thawing frozen potentially hazardous food at temperatures between 5⁰C and 60⁰C may allow food poisoning bacteria to grow. The food safety risk is much higher for frozen ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food being thawed than for frozen raw potentially hazardous foods that will be cooked or otherwise processed to make them safe before eating.

Ready-to-eat frozen potentially hazardous foods should be thawed in a refrigerator, or alternatively in the microwave. If the food is thawed at room temperature, the time that the food is at temperatures between 5⁰C and 60⁰C must be noted to ensure safe time limits are not exceeded (see Appendix A for details).

Frozen raw meats (e.g. chicken and turkey) may be able to be safely thawed outside refrigeration as foodborne pathogens that may grow during the thawing process should be destroyed when the meat is cooked. However, if these meats are thawed outside refrigeration, there is a risk of the meat spoiling due to the growth of microorganisms.

When thawing frozen raw meats, there are two critical food safety considerations:

1. Juices from the raw meats must not contaminate other foods.
2. Raw meats must be thawed completely before cooking unless the meats can be safely cooked from a frozen or partially frozen state.

Small portions of raw frozen meat and fish may be able to be safely cooked without the need for complete thawing (e.g. foods such as beef burgers and chicken nuggets are often cooked from the frozen state). However, if larger portions of raw meat such as chickens and turkeys are still partly frozen before cooking, it is harder to cook them thoroughly. There may also be sufficient time during cooking for food poisoning bacteria to grow to dangerous levels or for heat-stable toxins to be produced. Food poisoning incidents have resulted from cooking partially thawed meats.

The various ways that frozen potentially hazardous food can be thawed are explained in the table below.

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When cooling cooked potentially hazardous food, a food business must cool the food:

• from 60°C to 21°C within two hours; and
• from 21°C to 5°C within a further four hours.

A food business can use an alternative cooling process only if it can demonstrate that it will not adversely affect the microbiological safety of the food (see Standard 3.2.2 cl 7(3) of the Code).

Some pathogens can survive the cooking process; therefore to minimise pathogen growth it is important that cooked potentially hazardous food is cooled as quickly as possible to 5°C.

The initial drop in temperature (from 60°C to 21°C in two hours) must be faster than the second drop in temperature (from 21°C to 5°C in four hours). This is because foodborne pathogens multiply fastest at about 40°C.

A probe thermometer should be used to check how quickly food is cooling. Temperature should be measured at the part of the food that will take the longest to cool. This is usually the centre of the food.

If the business uses the same cooling process for each batch of food, and the process complies with the cooling requirements, it is not necessary to measure the temperature of each batch. The same cooling process means that a food is cooled under identical conditions, for example, custard is always cooled in the same container to the same depth. However, the business should continue to conduct regular temperature checks to ensure that any changes in environmental conditions, such as refrigerator temperature or air flow, have not affected the cooling process.

Reheating Food

When reheating potentially hazardous food, a food business must rapidly heat the food to 60°C or above to minimise pathogen growth (see Standard 3.2.2 cl 7(4) of the Code). A food business can use an alternative reheating process only if it can demonstrate that the process will not adversely affect the microbiological safety of the food.

This requirement only applies to potentially hazardous food that is to be held hot (e.g. in a bain-marie). It does not apply to food that is being reheated for immediate consumption.

Potentially hazardous food that has already been reheated should not be cooled and re‑heated a second time.

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When displaying food, all practical measures must be taken to ensure food is protected from the likelihood of contamination [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(1), (4) of the Code].

If displayed food is protected from contamination by packaging, the food businesses must ensure the packaging remains intact to prevent contamination. Food that may be contaminated due to damaged packaging must be removed from display and dealt with in accordance with the requirements of Standard 3.2.2 cl 11 of the Code (guidance available here).

If food is unpackaged, it must be protected from contamination. Food on display must be enclosed, contained or wrapped in some way e.g. a cake cannot be displayed on a countertop without an appropriate covering. For specific requirements relating to self-service foods see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(5) of the Code (guidance available here).

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When displaying unpackaged ready-to-eat self-service food, a food business must:

• ensure that the food is supervised;
• provide separate serving utensils for each food; and
• provide protective barriers

to prevent the likelihood of contamination (see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(2) of the Code).

These requirements apply to all ready-to-eat foods on display (e.g. self-service salad bars, bread, buffets and smorgasbords). However, these requirements do not apply to self-service nuts in the shell and whole, raw fruits and vegetables that are intended to be hulled, peeled or washed before consumption.

The food must be supervised so that if a customer has, or is likely to have, contaminated the food, the business can remove it from display. Adequate supervision may be achieved by requiring staff to monitor the display or by the use of surveillance cameras that continuously are monitored. Note that supervision is only required when customers are accessing food from the display.

The food business must provide separate serving utensils for each food on display, or other dispensing methods that minimise the likelihood of the food being contaminated.

Physical barriers between customers and the food discourage direct hand contact and ensure that contamination is minimised (e.g. from customers’ coughs and sneezes). Ideally, a protective barrier should be provided by the use of permanent display units. Permanent display units should be provided where food is being displayed regularly.

For temporary displays other mechanisms will need to be used to protect the displayed food from contamination. For example, if food is being displayed for self-service as part of an outdoor event, a permanent display unit may not be available. Instead, dishes with removable covers may be provided. These covers must remain available so that they can be placed back on the food when the customers have finished serving themselves.

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A food business must display potentially hazardous food under appropriate temperature control (i.e. at or below 5⁰C or at or above 60⁰C). If the food is intended to be frozen it must remain frozen when on display (see Standard 3.2.2 cl 8(5) of the Code).

If a food business displays food between 5oC and 60oC, the businesses must be able to demonstrate that this will not adversely affect its microbiological safety.

Potentially hazardous food can be safely displayed at temperatures between 5⁰C and 60⁰C provided that the time that the food is at these temperatures is minimised. The use of time as a control measure for the growth of pathogens in potentially hazardous food is outlined in Appendix A.

With respect to frozen food, businesses should follow the manufacturer’s storage instructions to maintain product quality and shelf life.

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Means an activity conducted to prepare food for sale including chopping, cooking, drying, fermenting, heating, pasteurising, thawing and washing, or a combination of these activities.

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Means all equipment used in handling food or storing food as well as equipment used to clean food premises or equipment, for example refrigerators, cool rooms, bain-marie units, ovens, food processors, dishwashers, brooms, mops, buckets etc.

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When transporting food a food business must take all practical measures to ensure food is protected from the likelihood of contamination [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 10(a)].

While food would normally be packaged during transportation, it is important that steps are taken to ensure packaging is not damaged or contaminated in a way that may affect the safety or suitability of the food. For example, food should not be transported with poisonous chemicals unless chemicals are packaged separately from food items.

Unpackaged food is vulnerable to contamination during transportation. If different types of unpackaged foods are being transported at the same time, businesses must ensure that there is no cross contamination. For example, ready-to-eat foods must be protected from contamination from raw meats.

Note that cl 24(1)(a) of Standard 3.2.2 prohibits the transport of live animals, other than seafood, fish or shellfish, in the part of the vehicle that is also carrying food.

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To apply heat or chemicals, heat and chemicals, or other processes, to a surface so that the number of micro-organisms on the surface is reduced to a level that:

• does not compromise the safety of food with which it may come into contact; and
• does not permit the transmission of infectious disease.

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All potentially hazardous food must be kept under appropriate temperature control during transportation. Additionally, all potentially hazardous food that is intended to be transported frozen must remain frozen during transportation [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 10(b), (c)].

Potentially hazardous food must be maintained at 5°C or below or 60°C or above. If the food business is transporting the food at a temperature between 5oC and 60oC, they must be able to demonstrate that this will not adversely affect its microbiological safety.

As a general rule, food businesses should not transport potentially hazardous food without adequate temperature control; if transport times will exceed 2 hours (see Appendix A for more detail).

If a food business decides to use time as a control rather than temperature, the business must monitor and record the amount of time that the potentially hazardous food is between the temperatures of 5°C and 60°C during transport.

The food business transporting frozen potentially hazardous food must keep this food frozen unless otherwise requested by the food business that is to receive this food. This request should be in writing to avoid any disputes.

Storage instructions may be provided by the manufacturer. These storage conditions need to be followed during transportation to ensure that food keeps for its intended shelf life as stated by the ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date.

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Means an activity conducted to prepare food for sale including chopping, cooking, drying, fermenting, heating, pasteurising, thawing and washing, or a combination of these activities.

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A food business engaged in the wholesale supply, manufacture or importation of food must:

• have in place a system to ensure the recall of unsafe food;
• set out this system in a written document and provide this document to an authorised officer upon request; and
• comply with this system when recalling unsafe food [see Standard 3.2.2 cl 12 of the Code].

This requirement applies to wholesale suppliers, manufacturers and importers. The requirement has been limited to these sectors of the food industry because recalls can only be effective if the product is stored by the customer (either a retailer or a consumer), i.e. it is not for immediate consumption. Food intended for immediate consumption is likely to have been consumed before it can be recalled.

A retail food business (restaurant, takeaway or supermarket) is not required to have a recall system unless it is also a food manufacturer, importer or wholesaler. For example, a café that makes its own jam for use on the premises is not required to have a recall system for the jam. However, if the café decides to sell this jam to the public, it will need a recall system.

The key features of a recall system are:

• a list of authorities that should be notified of the recall;
• records of where the product has been distributed;
• advice to be given to customers to ensure that food is returned;
• arrangements for retrieving food that is returned by customers to supermarkets or other outlets: and
• arrangements for assessing how much food has been returned and how much remains in the market place.