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Dry sanitation methods - Preventing cross-contamination on floors and entryways
- 1. Dry Sanitation Methods: Preventing Cross-contamination on Floors and Entryways ALEX JOSOWITZ, PRESIDENT
- 2. Introduction: FLOOR + ENTRYWAY CONTROL
- 3. Biofilms persist in dry environments
- 5. Solid sanitizers are a valuable tool in low moisture facilities
- 6. Low moisture environments are also at risk. o Nut Processing o Baked Goods o Flour Processing o Cereal Processing o Dry Cheese Production
- 7. “Dry cereal Salmonella outbreak taught us that Salmonella can desiccate and become metabolically inactive and survive (persist) in a facility for over 10 years.” – Freier 2019 “Some foodborne pathogens can survive for long periods in low- moisture foods and environments, and in some cases at doses that can cause infections.” – Beuchat 2011
- 8. “Studies have shown that dry surface biofilms are less susceptible to killing by heat treatment and high hydrostatic pressure than hydrated biofilms.” – Beuchat, 2011 – Almatroudi, 2018
- 9. Control of Moisture in Dry Processing Environments
- 10. Water in the dry processing environment is one of the most significant risk factors (perhaps the single most important factor) for Salmonella contamination, as water allows for pathogen growth, significantly increasing the risk for product contamination. Industry experience indicates that the presence of water, even in very small amounts present for short, sporadic time periods, may allow Salmonella to grow in the environment.” – Chen, 2009 “
- 11. Floor and Entryway Preventive Controls Why do we need floor and entryway interventions?
- 12. 1. Doorways are critical control points.
- 13. 2. Entryway interventions prevent the spread of organisms from less sensitive environments to more sensitive environments.
- 14. 3. Organisms can move. Equipment, boots, forklifts, pallet jacks act as a vehicle for cross contamination.
- 15. 4. Floors and drains provide harborage niches for organisms such as Salmonella and E.coli.
- 16. Limitations of Liquid-based Entryway Sanitizers 1. Liquids can cause transfer of moisture into dry environments.
- 17. 2. Liquid sanitizers are rapidly degraded by organic matter, so they need to be titrated and monitored frequently.
- 18. 3. Liquids require drainage and moisture control.
- 19. 4. Liquids are slippery and can not be spread broadly on the floor.
- 20. 5. Liquids can freeze.
- 21. 6. Equipment can move over powder on the floor easier than a foot bath that is raised from the floor.
- 22. 7. Employees can skip a boot dip but not a powder on the floor.
- 23. Solid Floor Sanitizers No Added Moisture Long Lasting Won’t Freeze Enhanced Traction EPA Registered
- 24. Types of Solid Floor Treatments o Used to absorb moisture and break down oils, fats and grease o Not intended to provide any antimicrobial efficacy o Majority of dry floor “treatments” are in this form o Not intended to kill organisms– used to deodorize and whiten floors o Approved by EPA as a sanitizer in solid form (minimum 3 log kill) o Does not contribute additional moisture to the facility ANTI-SLIP TREATMENTS FLOOR CLEANERS/DEODORIZERS SOLID FLOOR SANITIZERS
- 26. Solid Sanitizer Attributes Large Bead vs. Small Granule
- 27. Sanitizer Activity via Humidity Activation 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 0 hours 8 hours 12 hours 24 hours LogReduction 30% RH 1.54 g/in2 50% RH 1.54 g/in2 70% RH 1.54 g/in2 Always reference product labels for usage instructions. LOG REDUCTION OVER TIME
- 28. Safety Inhalation Check product warning labels Flammability High levels of oxidizers can cause fires if not disposed of properly Traction Evaluate granule size
- 29. Thank you! REFERENCES: Chen, Y., V. N. Scott, T. A. Freier, J. Kuehm, M. Moorman, J. Meyer, T. Morille-Hinds, L. Post, L. Smoot, S.Hood, J. Shebuski, and J. Banks. 2009. Control of Salmonella in low-moisture foods II: Hygiene practices to minimize Salmonella contamination and growth. Food Protection Trend July, pp. 435-445. Beuchat L, Komitopoulou E, Betts R, Beckers H, Bourdichon F, Joosten H, Fanning S, ter Kuile B. Persistence and Survival of Pathogens in Dry Foods and Dry Food Processing Environments. Report of an ILSI Europe Expert Group. November, 2011. Almatroudi A., Tahir S, Hu H, Chowdhury D, Gosbell IB, Jensen SO, Vickery K. Staphylococcus aureus Dry-Surface Biofilms are More Resistant to Heat Treatment Than Traditional Hydrated Biofilms. J Hosp Inf 2018; 98(2): 161-167. Alex Josowitz, President Sterilex, LLC alex.josowitz@sterilex.com www.sterilex.com
Editor's Notes
- Hi all, my name is Alex Josowitz and I am the President of Sterilex and I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today.
- In this symposium we have talked about the critical need to clean and sanitize in low moisture processing environments and some general ways to clean without the use of additional water. This presentation will specifically discuss some best practices and methods for microbiological control on floors and entryways in low moisture facilities.
- Prior to getting into the specifics around floor and entryway control there are three key points I want to make about sanitation in low moisture processing facilities. First, and this surprises a lot of people, bacterial biofilms, which make organisms resistant to sanitizers, can and will survive in dry/low moisture environments.
- Second key takeaway, the introduction of water into low moisture environments can and will promote the growth of pathogenic organisms. Moisture should be minimized as much as possible in these types of facilities. I’ll delve a bit more into this in an upcoming slide.
- Third, solid or dry sanitizers, and I mean true solid sanitizers, not cleaners or anti-slip agents, are a proven valuable tool for floor and entryway microbial control in low moisture environments.
- So, point 1: organisms can survive in “dry biofilms” in very low moisture environments. We have seen examples of this in all types of low moisture processing including nut processing, bakeries, recently flour, cereal and dry dairy.
- Recent outbreaks in dry cereal – that was Salmonella, but even the ongoing E. coli issues in flour have taught us that in dry environments, pathogens desiccate and become metabolically inactive, almost in a dormant state in the biofilm but will survive for over 10 years. Even at these low dosages, these organisms are pathogenic and can cause human infections. In addition, once moisture is added to the environment, these organisms start metabolizing and growing once again.
- The other really interesting things about these organisms in “dry biofilms” is that they become even more resistant to other dry sanitation interventions such as heat treatment or even HPP.
- Moving to takeaway 2, and I know this seems like common sense, is that control of moisture in dry processing environments is essential.
- The presence of water in a low moisture environment, even in very low amounts, is the biggest risk to the activation and growth of pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli in these types of environments. There are a number of reasons for this but the bottom line is that these facilities and their processes are not designed to deal with water.
- With all of that in mind, I want to circle back to floor and entryway sanitation. Floor and entryway control is one key aspect to control cross contamination in a food plant and is particularly challenging in low moisture environments. Why is this so important?
- First off, entryways and doorways are CCP’s and must be included in your HACCP plan.
- Entryway interventions prevent the spread of organisms from less sensitive areas to more sensitive areas in a plant. This can be from outside the processing area to inside. It could be from a wet processing area to a low moisture/dry area or from raw to RTE.
- Don’t forget that organisms can move! Whether it’s on the bottom of your boot or on a forklift or pallet jack. These become vehicles for organisms to move from a less sensitive area to a more sensitive area. You need to have an intervention in place to prevent this type of cross contamination.
- Finally, floors and drains are notorious in their ability to act as harborage niches for pathogens and biofilm. They are difficult to clean, it’s where food residue collects and ends up as a breeding ground. So it’s clear – floor and entryway interventions are key aspects of any sanitation program.
- So what are the limitations with liquid based entryway interventions and why do we believe that dry interventions are a much better option? Well first, liquid based solutions can transfer moisture into dry environments. And those liquids that are rapidly drying such as alcohol based sanitizers can have significant safety concerns with regards to flammability and storage.
- Liquid based sanitizers and foams are also very rapidly degraded by organic matter. If they are not titrated and replaced frequently they become a harborage point in and of themselves – what I like to call an “organism soup”.
- Liquids also require drainage and moisture control. Most low moisture facilities that I’ve been in do not have adequate drainage to be able to handle liquid based entryway sanitizers.
- Liquids are slippery by their very nature. One great benefit of dry/solid-based sanitizers is that they can be applied broadly across a plant floor during production giving constant protection. You can not continuously walk in liquid during production.
- If using an entryway sanitizer by an exterior door or by a freezer, liquid based sanitizers can freeze.
- Forklifts and pallet jacks have a much easier time moving over a dry sanitizer on a floor than trying to make their way over a raised boot dip.
- Finally, employees can skip a boot dip or a boot spray, but when a powder is spread across an entryway and the floor is treated constantly as well, they can’t miss the sanitizer.
- The use of dry or solid based sanitizers address these issues. They do not add any moisture to the environment making them a great fit for low moisture production or for extended production runs. Secondly, solid sanitizers are long lasting. You can visually see on the floor that there is a dry powder there able to be activated and provides you with a constant residual during production. Powders obviously do not freeze and they can provide enhanced traction vs. liquids. I do want to emphasize the importance of EPA registration when we talk about solid floor sanitizers. All sanitizers, whether they are liquid or dry, must be EPA registered to legally be used as a sanitizer.
- To this point: There are three categories of what I would call dry floor “treatments”. First, are anti-slip treatments. These are used to enhance traction and break down oils, fats and grease. These are not EPA registered and not designed to kill organisms. Floor cleaners. The vast majority of powders you see put on the floor in manufacturing plants fit this category. Some are percarbonate based, some are quat based but if they are not EPA registered with sanitizer language on the product label, they can’t be used as a floor or entryway intervention. I’ve seen this come up countless times with FDA, SQF, BRC auditors. If your food safety plan includes the use of a dry intervention, it’s gotta be EPA registered as a sanitizer. The third category is obviously solid floor sanitizers that are meant to be applied in solid form, not prediluted with water.
- Solid floor treatments can either be broadcast or used in a floor containment device. When broadcast, you can apply by scoop or can use a fertilizer spreader to apply to large areas. Solid treatments can also be applied to floor containment devices such as a mat or pan similar to how liquid boot dips are used.
- Other considerations here: some solid sanitizers and floor treatments are sold as large beads vs. small granules. While large beads may last longer than smaller granules, they can oftentimes significantly increase slipperiness – almost like walking on marbles. Beads can also cake and stick together in moist areas. I prefer smaller granules – also because the smaller granules can fit into those cracks and crevices in the floor that can become harborage points for organisms.
- So, the most common question people ask me about solid floor sanitizers is how do they provide any kill in a low moisture environment? This is a great and valid question. I can tell you that at Sterilex we have done a lot of work into the development and evaluation of dry floor sanitizers that are meant to be activated by ambient moisture or HUMIDITY – even very low levels of humidity. While a lot of this work is new and proprietary I can provide some data here into how some of these products work without any added moisture in a very low moisture plant environment. You can see that the dry sanitizers developed at Sterilex have an ability, even at levels around 30% RH to give you sanitizer levels of kill without the addition of moisture. This is critical in dry environments.
- Final topic I want to touch on is safety, specifically inhalation and flammability. Always apply dry powders in a well ventilated environment. But also look at product label and SDS sheet. Some require the use of a respirator and some powders, are even labeled “Fatal if inhaled” on the product label. In terms of flammability, mixed oxidizer products can be very flammable and have caused dumpster fires if not disposed of very carefully. Be careful with very high levels of oxidizers or mixed oxidizer products.
- So, I know that was a lot of information but I want to thank you all for listening and let me know if you have any questions. My contact information is here and I’ll be at booth 312 as well. Thanks!