Most candy makers would probably agree it’s easier to keep a
super-clean facility when the bows and boxes aren’t flying during the holiday
season. But how is your staff doing with keeping the cleaning schedule when
there seems to be no extra time in the day?
One way to stay on top of this is to test the cleanliness of
your facility on a regular basis. We don’t mean a visual test where you look to
see if the area appears clean but an actual scientific test for allergens,
sanitation, etc.
You can buy sample test kits and do an on-site test of a
variety of areas in your production zone. During one of our recent Kettle Talk
panel forums, a member recommended buying sample
test kits from Neogen. Using their food allergen tests you can do on-site
tests to detect the target allergen (see list of allergens
here) in ingredients, liquids, clean-in-place rinses, finished foods, and
on environmental surfaces. They also have sanitation tests to
detect the amount of food residue and other organic matter, such as bacteria,
yeast and mold, that may remain after cleaning.
Please note this is just one company that was recommended
from one member to another at our event and others are likely available to you
by searching online. If you also want to send swabs off to a lab to be
thoroughly tested, Silliker
Labs, who presented at the 2012 RCI Spring Regional event, also provides
food testing and sanitation information for confectioners and food facilities.
Do you have other tips for maintaining a clean food facility
in the midst of your busiest production schedules? Please share with our blog
community in the comments below!
