H&L Transport Managerial Control Manual March 2014 | Page 29

MANAGERIAL CONTROL MANUAL

When dealing with foods, hazards associated with physical contamination and foods containing
hazardous chemicals, such as pesticides or strong cleaning compounds, can certainly be very serious.
However, the most serious hazard associated with food products is contamination with microorganisms
that can lead to food-borne illnesses and poisonings.
Generally, the physical and chemical hazards are detectable and
identifiable as soon as the problem is evident. However, foodborne illnesses associated with microbiological activity may not
become evident for some time; with people becoming ill hours
or even days after the contaminated food product was
consumed. It is also quite possible that tracking down the
contaminant is difficult because of the wide variety of people
who may have consumed the product out of a tainted batch and
also because of the time required for positive microbiological
testing and confirmation.

Thus, it is not inconceivable that a period of several days up to several weeks may lapse between the
time a person consumes a contaminated product and positive identification has been made as to the
source and type of microbiological contamination causing the problem.

Exemplary sanitation programs are imperative in the food industry. The
development of such programs is vital in the prevention of
microbiological buildup that can contaminate food products and transmit
illnesses to those consuming the product. The importance of these
sanitation programs becomes clear when one considers the difficulty
associated with detecting microbiological contamination in foods, the
time and difficulty involved in specifically identifying the cause of
invasion, and the severity of food-borne illness or poisoning that may
result.

Because there are have so many areas where the appropriate food supply and environmental conditions
are provided, a strict sanitation policy to clean and sanitize equipment on a regular basis must be
maintained. Microbiological contamination is a certainty if good sanitation cleaning procedures are not
followed in areas involving any food product. These cleaning procedures include the utilization of
recommended detergents and appropriate agitation, whether that is from high-pressure cleaners or good
old elbow grease, to remove the physical soil and bacterial numbers.

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