Food Quality Assurance Management

Good manufacturing Practices (GMP) are those activities and practices that we do to prevent
hazards or contamination from entering into food products. The GMP deals with contamination
 by people
 by food materials (allergens)
 by packaging materials
 by hazardous materials (cleaning residues and chemicals)
 by miscellaneous materials (nuts and bolts, screws)
General Employee Hygiene
Personal hygiene is one of the most critical pieces. As people are the ones who handle the food
products. In some industries, such as beverage bottling, much of the processing activities are
quite automated. In others, such as bakeries, meat cutting, there is a lot of hand contact with the
foods. So it is important that all employees practice proper hygiene. All employees working in
direct contact with food, food contact surfaces and food packaging must conform to hygienic
practices. This protects against food contamination by microorganisms or unwanted material.
Careless employee practices can cause product contamination. The best way to avoid
contamination is to prevent it.
Employee Clothing and other belongings
Employees or workers
 Must wear pants and covered sleeves
 Should not use open toes or high heels shoes in production areas, for safety reasons. They
must also keep a pair of shoes at work
 Must enclose the hair in a hair net or a cap and if you have a beard, a beard net
 Must store personal belongings and street clothing in locker rooms
Employee Illness
Many illnesses can be transferred from one person to another through food, therefore workers or
employees:
 Should inform supervisors if they are ill with symptoms that could contaminate
ingredients or products
 Ensure clean bandage covers in case of open wounds
 Should provide a doctor’s certificate when they are hired
Hand washing practices of employees
Dr. Muhammad Nadeem (Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Sargodha, Sargodha)
Food Quality Assurance Management

In general, employees must take bathe daily before coming to work. All employees must wash
their hands thoroughly:
 when they enter food handling areas
 before starting work
 after handling contaminated materials
 after breaks
 after using toilet facilities
Poor hand washing is the number one cause for food borne illness.
Food Handling Practices
Personnel Practices
 Do not lean, sit or step on product surfaces
 Do not handle ingredients or products with either cut or infected hands
 Keep hand contact with ingredients and product to a minimum
 Do not eat, drink or chew
 Do not apply perfume, aftershave, fragrant creams
 Do not wear jewellery
 Do not put false nails or apply nail polish
 Do trim fingernails short
 Do not leave gloves, masks, etc. lying around while on break or at shift end
Product
 Keep hand contact with ingredients to a minimum
 Check ingredients for expiration dates to ensure that fresh ingredients are used
 Cooling product should always be kept covered
Equipment, containers and utensils
 Clean all equipments and utensils before and after use
 Use required or prescribed equipments and utensils for different kind of work
 Ensure that all containers, including those holding rework, are properly labeled and are
kept covered
 Different colored boxes or containers should be used either for storing ingredients or
rework

Dr. Muhammad Nadeem (Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Sargodha, Sargodha)
Food Quality Assurance Management

 Garbage containers must be kept covered and of different colors as that of other above
mentioned containers
Cloths
 Use white cloths to wipe hands regularly and dispose of soiled or dirty cloths
immediately. No moist cloths are to be left in the production area
 Use yellow or other colored cloths to clean the floor and objects (e.g. step stools) that
come into contact with the floor
Utensils
 Scrapers for moulds and tabletops are not to be used on the floor
 Production equipment/utensils must be thoroughly cleaned
Premises
 Keep windows closed.
 Report any pests or evidence of pests such as flies, insects, mice droppings
Equipment
 Return tools and attachments to their proper place after use
 Check product surfaces before starting equipment. Remove any foreign objects or dirt
 Replace brushes that lose bristles
Sanitation
 Keep contact surfaces clean and free of contamination from tools, cleaning utensils,
machine parts, lubricants and paper
 Clean all spills promptly
 Keep everything off the floor and the area clean and floors swept
 Work areas should be cleaned regularly throughout the shift
 Keep your immediate working area swept. Wipe up spilled liquids promptly
 Scrap the floor around the work area after completing a job
 Leave your work area clean at the end of your shift
Receiving and Storage
 Ensure that all materials are kept at some distance from the walls
 Inspect torn bags and boxes and then repair if appropriate
 Brush off bags and boxes before opening them
 Store ingredients and products at the appropriate temperature.
Dr. Muhammad Nadeem (Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Sargodha, Sargodha)
Food Quality Assurance Management

 Use ingredients in the proper rotation

 Handle ingredients or products carefully to avoid spilling
 Do not return products or ingredients to the production line after they have touched the
floor or any other surface that is not clean
Retail store
 Monitor and maintain proper temperatures
 Rotate ingredients and check for expired items
 Check best before dates and the quality of the food before using
 Refrigerate cold foods immediately upon receipt
 Always wash hands after handling money
Visitors to Production Areas
 Visitors must be accompanied by plant personnel and must follow the same rules – such
as hair nets, no jewelry etc

Dr. Muhammad Nadeem (Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Sargodha, Sargodha)