Principles of Food Sanitation

sanitation program can increase the

shelf life of food.

4. An effective sanitation program includes
   regular cleaning and sanitizing of all
   equipment in a facility including heat-
   ing, air conditioning, and refrigeration
   equipment. Dirty, clogged coils harbor
   microorganisms and blowers and fans
   can spread flora throughout the facility.
   Clean and sanitized coils lower the risk
   of airborne contamination and can
   reduce energy and maintenance costs by
   up to 20%. Insurance carriers may
   reduce rates for clean establishments as
   a result of improved working condi-
   tions as well as fewer customer com-
   plaint claims.


5. Various, less tangible benefits of an
   effective sanitation program include:
   (a) improved product acceptability,
   (b) increased product shelf life, (c) sat-
   isfied and perhaps even delighted cus-
   tomers, (d) reduced public health risks,
   (e) increased trust of regulatory agen-
   cies and their inspectors, (f) decreased
   product waste and removal, and
   (g) improved employee morale.

Sanitation: A Foundation for Food Safety
Assurance
Proper sanitation practices provide the
foundation that food safety assurance sys-
tems are built upon. Poor hygienic and sani-
tary practices can contribute to outbreaks of

foodborne illnesses and cause injury. In the

last several years, there have been some

major food safety incidents that have made

headlines and focused attention on poor san-

itary practices in all sectors of the food sys-

tem. Some of these incidents are shown in

Table 1–1 and explained below.

During the past decade, a large Salmonella

enteritidisoutbreak in ice cream was caused

by the cross-contamination of pasteurized ice

cream mix. The pasteurized mix was trans-

ported from premix plants to a freezing oper-

ation in tanker trucks that had previously

been used to haul raw liquid eggs. The eggs

were contaminated with S. enteritidis. The

hauler was supposed to wash and sanitize the

trucks before the ice cream mix was loaded,

but this procedure was often bypassed. Inves-

tigators found egg residue in one tanker truck

after cleaning and noted soiled gaskets, inad-

equate records, and the lack of inspection and

documentation of cleaning and sanitization

procedures. There was a nationwide recall of

over 6.3 million kg of ice cream products

before the incident was resolved. It was esti-

mated that approximately 224,000 people

became ill in this outbreak. The proper clean-

ing and sanitization of the tanker trucks

could have prevented this incident.

In another large outbreak,Escherichia coli

0157:H7 in contaminated and undercooked

ground beef patties caused 732 illnesses and

4 deaths in four states. Ground beef con-

taminated at the meat processing plant was

Sanitation and the Food Industry 5

Table 1–1Major Food Safety Incidents

Agent Food Effect

S. enteritidis Ice cream ~224,000 ill
E. coli0157:H7 Hamburgers 732 ill, 4 deaths
Benzene Mineral water Worldwide recall of 160 million bottles
L. monocytogenes Hot dogs 101 ill, 21 deaths
Allergens Many foods 35–40% of U.S. population have food allergies;
150–200 people die each year
Glass Bottled beer 15.4 million bottles were recalled, destroyed,
and replaced