Principles of Food Sanitation

1. Clean air conditioning units every 6
   months. Insert a ball spray through a
   special opening above the coils on top
   of the air conditioning units.


2. Run water for 10 minutes to flush the
   unit.


3. Run a hypochlorite solution (200 ppm)
   at 40ºC for 5 minutes.


4. Let the unit soak for 5 minutes.


5. Rinse the unit with warm water for 10
   minutes.


6. Check the unit and clean the pan bot-
   tom.

Water Conservation in Brewery Sanitation

Water usage during cleaning can be
reduced with a wash-rinse cycle sometimes
called the slop cycle. This cycle includes a
prerinse, in which a cleaning solution is
pumped through a spray device for 20 sec-
onds, with 1 minute permitted for chemical
action and a subsequent burst rinse with
water—the same procedure as used in most
home dishwashers. Reuse of cleaning solu-
tions is practical and economical. The length
of reuse can be increased if the solution tank
has a top overflow to skim off floating soil
and a drain valve to permit bottom draining
of the heavy soil. Furthermore, the final
rinse water can be salvaged for the prerinse
on the next tank to be cleaned. This tech-
nique can reduce water and sewage treat-
ment costs in areas where both water supply
and sewage are metered.

Winery sanitation

It is essential for a winery to be main-
tained in a clean, sanitary condition. Dirty
storage conditions can cause off-odors and
off-flavors since wine absorbs various odors.
It is essential to remove soil contami-
nants that affect the taste, appearance, and
perishability of wine. Included among the

contaminants are the reddish tartrate

deposits that form or build up on tank inte-

riors as a result of fermentation. Other

tenacious soils should be cleaned from the

surfaces of processing equipment to reduce

microbial growth throughout the winery. In

general, the more sanitary a winery is, the

smaller the quantities of SO 2 that must be

added to the wine at the end of the wine-

making process. Although SO 2 has been

used to control microbial growth, use of

this compound has been discouraged and

may be discontinued in the future. As a

complement to SO 2 , sorbic acid is effective

in the prevention of fermentation of sweet

wines if there is a low initial count of yeast

and free SO 2 is still active to prevent bacte-

ria from destroying the sorbic acid. Zoeck-

lein et al. (1995) have suggested that rigid

sanitation is a viable alternative strategy for

microbial destruction.

Because rigid sanitation will not destroy

all microorganisms, as does sterilization, the

reduction of viable cell number to an accept-

able level may be attained. As stated by

Zoecklein et al. (1995), effective sanitation

accomplishes another important goal-the

elimination of hospitable environments for

growth.

Although the requirements for sanitation

increase during the winemaking process and

peak at bottling time, it is important to rec-

ognize that the vineyard tools and harvesting

equipment must be washed to remove dirt,

pomace, soil, and leaves. Destemmers, crush-

ers, and grape processing and bulk storage

areas require a brush detergent and water.

Harvester heads, pipes, hoses, pumps,

faucets, spigots, and anything else coming in

direct contact with the juice or wine will

require the five cleaning steps discussed early

in this chapter. The same steps apply to the

bottling line, but additional control and

checking are necessary to reduce the micro-

bial load of the wine.

Beverage Plant Sanitation 361