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When purchasing food ingredients (both raw and processed),
management should establish specifications for each of the items
that are to be received. The specifications may be that the
products meet management’s standards in the areas of quality,
temperature, size, and microbiological standards. Processors
should evaluate whether the food product purchased was produced at
sites that adhere to GMP and meet established specifications.
To ensure that the quality of freshly processed food is not
compromised, all transportation equipment carrying these products
should be cleaned and sanitized frequently.
 At the time of receipt, processors should visually examine the
incoming product for rot, decay, foreign objects, and damaged
containers. All incoming ingredients must be inspected and be
accepted or rejected. In case a traceback is required, processors
will need to determine which incoming ingredients are components
of which finished product. It is recommended that processors
document the following information for traceback purposes, at the
time of receipt of an ingredient: type of product; ingredient and
product packaging; labeling; lot number; and pallet tag, quantity,
size, and weight. There are many ways a firm can document incoming
product receipt and tie it to production for better traceback.
Maintaining documents in case of a traceback may minimize the
public health and economic impact of a recall.
Record keeping practices should be applied to all items that
are added to processed food products and to packaging materials.
Quality control review of all ingredients and packaging materials
is the first step in producing the safest processed food at the
facility. Workers involved in the loading and unloading of raw
ingredients during transport should practice good personal hygiene
and sanitation, as discussed previously.
To minimize potential microbial hazards when receiving product,
the buildings, fixtures, other physical facilities, and
surrounding grounds should be maintained in good sanitary
condition. Pathogenic microorganisms may be found on floors, in
drains of packing facilities and on the surfaces of sorting,
grading, and packing equipment. Without use of good sanitary
practices, surfaces that come into contact with raw ingredients
could be a source of microbial contamination. Therefore, good
sanitation practices should be used throughout the facility and
staging areas to control contamination throughout the receiving,
processing, and packing operations.
Packaging containers and other packing materials that are not
used right away should be stored in a way that protects them from
contamination by pests, dirt, and water condensing from overhead
equipment and structures. Packaging materials should:
- be manufactured from food grade materials,
- be stored away from any industrial chemicals and other
possible contaminants, and
- not be used to store hazardous chemicals to avoid
cross-contamination.
To insure proper rotation of inventory all pallets should be
dated upon receipt. Also, an appropriate detailed inventory system
should be established in order to insure first-in-first-out (FIFO)
use and shipment of product. Similar commodities should be stored
together in order to prevent cross-contamination.
All equipment should be maintained in a clean and sanitary
condition. All remnants of food products on belts, tables, lines,
and conveyors may serve as a source for microbial contamination
and should be removed and the equipment cleaned. When knives and
cutting equipment, boots, gloves, smocks, and aprons are used
during the processing, they should be cleaned on a regular basis
or replaced if they become damaged and/or cannot be kept in
sanitary condition.
When preparing finished product for shipment to customers,
processors are encouraged to examine all transportation
vehicles before loading freight carriers or refrigerated
trailers with product. Because transportation vehicles can be
a potential source of microbial contamination, trailers should
be inspected for general condition, obvious contaminants, and
odors before loading. Only trailers with no obvious signs of
contamination should be loaded. Drivers should be advised to
properly clean, sanitize, and repair trailers prior to
loading.
To view the FDA’s booklet "Inspecting Incoming Food
Materials" click on the following link: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/insp-toc.html
This is only a brief outline of the GMP that are required
for processed food. GMP can be useful in helping processors
control their process and minimize microbial, chemical and
physical hazards during all stages of the processing
operation. In addition, some states, including California,
have incorporated the GMP regulations into the State Health
and Safety Codes making them requirements for all foods
produced in the state.
To operate and maintain your business, you must meet the
requirements in the GMP. The following documents are the GMP
regulations and a checklist that you can use to check and make
corrections to ensure all the conditions set forth in the GMP are
met. Click on the documents below for a complete guide to GMP and
an easy to follow GMP self inspection checklist.
To view a copy of the FDA’s "Do Your Own Establishment
Inspection", click on the following link: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/selfinsp.html
A copy of the "Current Good Manufacturing Practice in
Manufacturing, Packing or Holding Human Food" regulation can
also be obtained by downloading from the FDA website at www.fda.gov.
GMP represent only one important prerequisite program. Other
examples of prerequisite programs are Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP), Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP),
operational actions such as raw material controls, product coding
and labeling, product traceability and recall procedures, consumer
complaint management and crisis management.
Next Standard Operating Procedures and
Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures
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