Hygiene within the food and drink industry is paramount – especially in manufacturing. Food and drink products need to be made in the cleanest environment possible, otherwise, they run the risk of contamination and ruining the quality of the ingredients.
For a food and drink manufacturer, trying to operate in a dirty workplace is a cardinal sin. Think about it, nobody wants to replenish and refresh themselves with anything that’s been made in a dirty environment, do they?
You want to be confident that you can trust what you’re eating and drinking has been made in an environment where all the necessary hygiene procedures have been enforced. So, in this post, we’ve outlined the key food and drink industry hygiene best practices for you to follow.
We’ll cover:
- The Importance of Hygiene in the Food and Drink Industry
- Regularly Clean Work Stations
- Don’t Forget the Floor
- Adhere to Food Hygiene Regulations
The Importance of Hygiene in the Food and Drink Industry
In any industry, hygiene should be the main priority. However, this level of importance is maximised in the food and drink industry. But why? Well, the industry spans over a wide range of food types that all need to be dealt with safely in their own way. For example, fish can’t be treated the same as meat – and they most certainly can’t be manufactured together.
Each product has a different shelf life and needs to be produced individually. Cross-contamination is a big no-no in the manufacturing industry and can lead to some serious issues if you don’t follow the strict guidelines on it. For example, severe allergies can cost people their lives. So, cross-contaminating when manufacturing food can put people at risk and just one case like this will cripple your business.
Contamination doesn’t just come from not preparing individual food properly either. It can stem from uncleanliness, which is why you need to keep your work stations as clean as possible. Food and drink manufacturing warehouses and factories are busy places, so there’s likely to be general operational dirt that needs cleaning up.
If this goes unattended, the mess can lead to contamination of your goods. If your items become contaminated, you’ll then have to simply throw them away. This is a waste of money for your business and time too – it’ll hike up your downtime cost and will reduce business efficiency.
As you can see, hygiene is a business-critical matter within the food and drink industry. It can be the difference from businesses growing to be a roaring success, or it can totally shut your operations down. So, you need to make sure that everything is squeaky clean and all the correct measures are taken so that your business can operate smoothly and efficiently.
Regularly Clean Work Stations
Food and drink manufacturing warehouses and factories can get messy – quickly! So, it’s imperative that you keep on top of your work stations and ensure they’re clean at all times to avoid contamination.
A lot of people are quick to assume that contamination only comes from dealing with different food types. However, they’d be wrong. You can easily contaminate your food products when working with the same food type. Which is why you need to be extra careful when dealing with different batches and packages of goods.
Cleaning your workstation should be done religiously. Whether that’s a team member cleaning as they go and rounding off with a deep clean at the end of the day, or outsourcing a third-party to come in monthly and give the site a rigorous cleaning. We can’t stress how important it is to regularly clean workstations.
Keeping your workstations clean isn’t only beneficial for hygiene reasons either. When clean, the workplace is optimally prepared for team members to carry out their job as best as they can. Therefore, they’ll be able to work at a maximum level of output and productivity will no doubt rise.
Keeping your workplace clean reduces the chances of any accidents in the workplace. Accidents are sometimes unavoidable but if you’re maximising the chances of them happening by not cleaning up properly, that’s poor practice and can affect your business in many ways. Not only will you have to push back deadlines and annoy your clients, but you may experience partial or full downtime as a result of it too.
Don’t Forget the Floor
When deep cleaning workplaces, the floor is perhaps the largest regularly used surface in your workplace to clean. Think about it, there’s a lot of traffic that covers the floor daily. Plus, in larger warehouses and centres, there are vehicles running inside and outside.
This means that a lot of general traffic dirt and debris will cover the floor. The more dirt and debris on the floor, the more your team members are exposed to accidents in the workplace. Plus, dirt on the floor can easily lead to bacterial contamination if it’s not kept on top of – that’s the last thing that you want.
Dirty floors can lead to businesses not working at full capacity. If the floor is slippy, workers aren’t going to be able to walk around the warehouse as quickly as they could do and would naturally be more cautious on their feet. If your team is having to think about staying on their feet at work, they’re not going to feel safe.
Nobody deserves to have to go to work every day feeling unsafe and on edge. Plus, it’ll have an impact on productivity too. By factoring in industrial floor cleaning, you’re ensuring that hygiene levels are still maximised and you’re also contributing towards the streamlining of your business procedures. It’s a win-win for all areas of your business.
Adhere to Food Hygiene Regulations
They’re there for a reason – so you MUST adhere to them. There are no cutting corners when it comes to hygiene regulations in the food and drinks manufacturing industry. By cutting corners and not following the rules, you’re literally toying with people’s lives. Contamination of goods can kill – it’s as simple as that.
If you’re not adhering to the recommended food hygiene regulations, you won’t get away with it for long. With sloppy standards comes poor products and you’ll eventually be found out. Businesses can be subject to heavy fines or even closure if they’re not adhering to food hygiene regulations.
We wouldn’t want to be in your shoes as a hygiene manager having to hold that awkward conversation with the business owner about why you’ve been shut down because you’re not carrying out your job effectively. We somewhat don’t think they’ll take to the forced closure and downtime lightly!
When out and about, you’ll have no doubt seen food hygiene certificates and stickers displayed in restaurants, takeaways, cafes and in industry too. This is a big persuading factor for people wanting to give their business to a well-established, professional business. If your hygiene rating is low, you’re automatically less appealing to your customers and will likely lose out to your competition.
For a full industrial breakdown of the food hygiene laws and regulations, click here.
Industrial Floor Cleaning Machines Can Help With Hygiene
As you’ve seen in this post, you mustn’t forget about your floor when giving your workplace a deep clean. Although it seems like a tedious and laborious task, especially if you have a large premises, it doesn’t have to be!
Food and drink manufacturers are subject to all kinds of dirt, debris and spillages. So, you needn’t work away for hours putting some real elbow grease into getting it squeaky clean, especially when an industrial floor cleaner can do the job twice as fast and effectively.
Industrial cleaning machines are a must-have if you’re looking to keep things as clean as possible and improve your overall hygiene levels. Plus, it’s not just hygiene levels they affect, they have a wide variety of benefits for your business to take advantage of.
For more information on how they can benefit your business and which one is best suited to your needs, download our free guide today.
