Meat and poultry operators seeking the safest processing environment must keep a close eye on the conveyor.

Because conveyors and belts are in constant contact with meat and poultry, the machinery is ripe for harboring the bacteria that can lead to foodborne illness. The typically wet processing environment helps foster incidents by adding moisture to conveyors and belts, “where the key mix of water and food residue, due to improper cleaning and sanitation, can allow microbial pathogens to survive and grow,” says Nicole Keresztes-James, supplier assurance programs technical scheme lead for NSF International, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based food safety auditing firm and standards developer.

Such residues, including fat and small meat particles, can provide the nutrition for microorganisms to thrive, including such bacteria as E.coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella, which can cause severe illness and even death, and pseudomonas, which can create discoloration and odd odors in products, resulting in food spoilage, says Norman Marriott, emeritus professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), in Blacksburg. Other bacteria that create food safety threats include Campylobacter, Yersinia and Clostridium perfringens, Keresztes-James says.

To reduce risks, it is essential that operators properly wash conveyors by first removing soil and debris with cleaning compounds and mechanical action, such as hand scrubbing, before rinsing the equipment and sanitizing, Marriott  says, particularly because insufficient cleaning can cause sanitizers to be less effective.

By richard mitchell

A host of safety hazards

Areas most likely to possess bacteria include conveyor belts, rollers and trains and other tight spaces where debris can collect, he says. “There are no perfect conveyors, but equipment manufacturers have been making improvements, which is resulting in less soil deposits,” Marriott says. Newer designs feature fewer corners, nooks, crannies and materials that are less likely to crack and create an additional harbor point, he says, adding that seals also prevent debris from getting inside bearings.

“The more difficult food equipment is to clean, the more likely it will post a risk to food safety,” Keresztes-James says. “The more points of contact on a conveyor or belt system, the more likely food residue will accumulate on them. Conveyance systems with multiple moving parts, such as rollers, can be difficult to clean, as can any belting system that does not have a smooth surface.”

Specific conveyor and belting elements also carry different food safety risks as meat and poultry residues can stick more readily to some materials than others, she says. “Conveyors and belts of mesh construction, or those with many connecting pieces, holes and crevices will trap and hold food residues and particulates more readily than solid flat belts,” Keresztes-James says. “Solid flat belts, however, do have to be watched for proper drainage.”

The ability for workers to easily move under and around the conveyors for effective cleaning and sanitation also is crucial, she says.

One size does not fit all

Processors should consider the type of protein being processed when deciding on a conveyor or belt system, Keresztes-James says. She notes that raw meat and poultry have high water activity and generate significant residue and food particulates. “These residues are easily trapped in conveyor systems where open spaces and dead ends are present,” Keresztes-James says. “Unsmooth belts will also provide ideal cracks and crevices for meat and poultry drippings to collect and ultimately generate a biofilm that is difficult to remove effectively.”

To further enhance cleanliness, processors must schedule enough time for cleaning and scrutiny, Keresztes-James says. “Equipment should be disassembled as much as possible after production to allow all surfaces to be reached,” she says. “Conducting fulsome inspections after the sanitation cycle and complementing that with effective environmental monitoring surveillance programs can help to ensure that pathogens left behind are sought out and destroyed.”

Cleaning and sanitizing frequency is important as well, Marriott says, noting that while such activity should occur at the end of the production cycle, adding a mid-shift conveyor cleaning will enhance food safety. Yet, because it can hamper productivity, processors may be reluctant to institute a second cleansing, he says.

“With proper temperature control, most companies are able to get by with just cleaning at the end of the production shift,” Marriott says. “There are microorganisms that will multiply 10 times as fast at 38 degrees Fahrenheit versus 32 degrees.” He notes that it becomes more important to incorporate the mid-shift cleanup when production area temperatures are above 40 degrees. Operators, however, may also resist lowering thermostats because employees can find such an environment uncomfortable, Marriott says, resulting in slower outputs. “It is a two-edged sword,” he says.

Worker education is essential

Training employees on how to reduce the threat of pathogens also is vital, Marriott says. That can include emphasizing the importance of placing, rather than tossing, meat and poultry onto conveyors to reduce the amount of fat and juices that will adhere to the equipment, he says.

“It’s imperative that processors take a prevention, versus reaction, approach,” Keresztes-James says. “Implementing processes that ensure proper cleaning and sanitation from the start of production minimizes the risks of contamination.”

She agrees that processors should educate workers on all sanitation procedures, particularly because frequent turnover in sanitation personnel and time pressures can impact effectiveness. “Comprehension and completion of procedures should be required and tracked among all employees,” Keresztes-James says.

The proper oversight to ensure workers are following the necessary methods is critical, Marriott says. “Employees that are not properly supervised often will forget about their training or choose to ignore it,” he says, which can include not appropriately applying and removing the necessary cleaning compounds or neglecting to hand scrub equipment to eliminate debris.

While adhering to proven procedures will reduce the threat of microbials in processing facilities, most cleaning and sanitizing measures are unlikely to be totally successful, Marriott warns. “The only way for 100 percent effectiveness is to sterilize equipment by heating it enough to destroy all microorganisms, and that is not practical,” he says.

www.provisoneronline.com   |   NOVEMber 2021