Principles of Food Sanitation

environmental monitoring that has been
advanced by Kraft Foods and adopted by
other food companies (Slade, 2002). This
technique is an effective way to identify
potential trouble spots and maintain effective
sanitation control strategies through targeting
appropriate areas of concern. The zonal
approach is designed as a bull’s eye target with
the center circle or Zone 1 representing the
most critical areas for cleaning and sanitiz-
ing—primarily direct food-contact surfaces.
These areas include, but are not limited to,
production equipment, utensils, and contain-
ers with direct contact with foods. The second
circle (Zone 2) of the bull’s eye target includes
the areas of concern for cleaning and sanitiz-
ing of indirect food-contact surfaces such as
equipment parts or other surfaces that per-
sonnel may come in contact with near Zone 1.
Examples of indirect contact surfaces include
portions of the plant environment such as
drains, utility pipes, heating ventilation, and
air conditioning system equipment, etc. Zone

3 includes floors, walls, and other items in

contact with floors, walls, cleaning equip-

ment, and other items in the processing area

that are not as close to foods as in Zone 2.

Zone 4 includes maintenance equipment and

areas further away from production such as

hallways, entrances, and welfare facilities.

One of the most viable contamination

sources is the food product itself. Waste prod-

ucts that are not handled in a sanitary way

become contaminated and support microbial

growth. ATP bioluminescence and protein

tests are non-microbial tests that detect soil

and debris that cannot be seen by the naked

eye. ATP bioluminescence detects any cells

that contain ATP; whereas, protein tests iden-

tify protein in soils, which is an indicator of

contamination such as feces. Figure 5–2 illus-

trates potential contamination by humans.

Dairy Products

Equipment with extensively designed sani-

tary features to improve the hygiene of milk

78 PRINCIPLES OFFOODSANITATION

Food Workers

Food Preparation

Food Consumption

Foodborne Illness

Skin and Hair Contamination

(open sores, cuts, boils, dandruff)

Intestinal Tract Contamination

from hands and faces

Respiratory Tract

Contamination

Coughing/Sneezing

Figure 5–2Potential contamination of food by humans.