the raw materialsfor cleanersand disinfectantsto avoidor at leastto minimiseany
potentialrisk.Taintingor toxicsubstancesshouldnot be used;raw materials
should not contain dangerous by-products, e.g. heavy metals. Production
equipmentshouldbe dedicatedexclusivelyto productsfor the foodindustryand
separatedfromequipmentusedfor janitorialproductsthat mightcontaindyesand
perfumes.Responsiblecare involvesan efficientqualitymanagementsystem
dealingwiththe aforementionedsubjects.Batchrecordsand batchsampleshaveto
be retainedfor a sufficient periodto clarifyany questionand complaint the
customermighthaveregardingthe productbought.If this is doneproperly,the
productcan be tracedbackby usingthe batchnumberas far as to the raw materials
and equipmentthat wereusedin the manufacturingprocess.
39.1.2 Additionalaspects
Anotherpointof interest± and this is definitelythe morecomplexpart ± is the
tracingand identificationof theseproductsduringhandlingand logisticsin a
productionsite. Fillingothercontainers,spillages,old stockswithdamagedlabel-
ling,receivingof bulkdeliveries,etc. requiretracingand identificationmethods.
Tracingof cleaning solutionsand hygiene productsis aboveall a matterof
foodhygiene and safety.Evenwithfully automatedsystems, it is importantto
identifyhygieneproductsbefore theyare filled fromroadtankersintobulk
storagetanks.Whenhandlinghygieneproducts manually, operator safetyand
plantsafetyare evenmoreof an issue.Unintentionalblendingof productsor
evenproduct solutions maycausesevereaccidents.In the caseof accidentsand
spillage,or simplywithold stockswithdamagedlabels,it can be importantto
identifythe natureof the products involvedand take adequate countermeasures.
Beingable to identify the natureof all products usedin a plantis a part of good
housekeepingpractices.
The intentionof this chapter is to showsolutions for this relatively complex
subjectof tracinghygieneproducts.
39.2 General issuesin tracingof cleaning solutions and
hygieneproducts
Todayanalyticaltracingand detectionof mostchemicals,evenin verysmall
concentrations,no longerseemsto be a physicalproblem.Whenlookingat product
mixturesor tracesof substancesin a matrix,chemicalanalysisbecomesmuchmore
problematic.Consideringthe costsof sophisticatedanalyticalequipment,cost±
benefitcomparisons,personnelcostsand timefactors,manyscientificallypossible
methodsturn into theoreticaloptionsof littlepracticalvalue.
However, thereshould be ways to controlhygieneproducts underaffordable
conditions focusing on practicaldemands,necessitiesand cost±benefit relations.
A closerlookat the compositionof cleaners and disinfectantswill providea
betterunderstanding of analyticaloptionsand challenges.
Traceabilityof disinfectants and sanitisers 673