Food Hygiene & Sanitation Professional Development Group
Mission Statement
To provide information on the developments in hygiene and sanitation in the food industry
Upcoming Meeting
July 22, 2012
Rhode Island Convention Center
Providence, Rhode Island
- Committee Members (IAFP Member Access Required)
- IAFP Constitution and Bylaws
How to Join
Involvement in committees and professional development groups (PDGs) offers Members the opportunity to share a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Members of committees and PDGs are the architects of the Association structure. They plan, develop and institute many of the Association's projects, including workshops, publications and educational sessions. Technical challenges facing the food safety industry are discussed, examined and debated. Members may volunteer to serve on any number of committees or PDGs that plan and implement activities to meet the Association's mission.
Membership on a PDG is voluntary (not by appointment) and may vary from year to year. Requests for membership on a PDG should be directed to the chairperson.
Committee Minutes
Below are downloadable documents containing current and past meeting minutes.
Board Response to Recommendations
Board Response to Recommendations
1. We recommend that Mark Drake be accepted as the new Vice Chair for the Food Hygiene and Sanitation PDG.
Board Response: Agree
2. The group discussed Food Manager Certification from the perspective of a manufacturing and distribution facility and that there is a need for a certification program similar to the national retail food manager certification. We recommend that the Board approve the investigation or development of a basic food safety certification test for manufacturing and distribution. It is intended that this be similar to the support that CFP (Conference for Food Protection) provides for the retail certification test.
Board Response: There are already a number of groups who provide certification services in the area of food safety, but perhaps not in the area described. The Board will discuss this proposal at their October Board meeting.
3. The group discussed that there is occasional confusion as to why submitted symposium and workshops may be declined. The group recommends to the Board that each PDG be allowed the opportunity for a PDG representative (to be assigned by the PDG Chair) as a non-voting observer and resource to the Planning Committee meeting to help clarify the presented ideas.
Board Response: The Program Committee conducts teleconferences and meets face-to-face for two days to select from submitted symposia to build the strongest program possible. For 2011, there were 96 submitted and about 50 accepted. The Program Committee has 12 Members plus two Board liaisons. There are 20 PDGs. Because of the number of PDGs, it is not possible to have a representative from each PDG as a Member of, or an observer to the Program Committee. The current Program Committee has balanced representation from education, government and industry as required by the IAFP Bylaws. Two Members from the Food Hygiene and Sanitation PDG currently serve on the Program Committee.
Resources
Below are downloadable resources or links to important information.
Webinars
Cleaning and Sanitation Validation: What Does Clean Look Like?
September 7, 2011
NOTE: This webinar was not recorded due to technical difficulties. Please use the link below to download the slides.
There are many different standards of clean and what is "clean" for one food operation may not be "clean" for another. This webinar will present empirical ways to measure the cleanliness of surfaces. Tests that can be used to evaluate soil and microbial levels on surfaces will be discussed. The strengths and weaknesses of the various tools available to evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning and sanitation programs will be presented. An adequately designed sampling program is as important as the methods used to test the surfaces, therefore this webinar will also discuss the elements of a sound sampling program.
Challenges and Improvement Opportunities in the Cleaning and Sanitation of Equipment in Dry Food Processing Environments
June 2, 2010
This webinar will address conditions that favor microbial growth and dispersion in the processing environment with emphasis on sites of contamination associated with food processing equipment. Approaches to elimination of those conditions will be described as well as approaches that have been or could be considered to eliminate or otherwise control microbes isolated from such sites.
Challenges with Wet Cleaning
May 5, 2010
This presentation will focus on wet sanitation of equipment requiring disassembly. The Webinar will be an overview of the process. Key points will cover the critical factors of Sanitation Process Control. Principles of Sanitary Equipment Design as well as Sanitary Facility Design will be covered. Investigative techniques such as the "Seek and Destroy Process," "Timed Studies" and "Swat Team" sampling will be covered.
Sanitation - Back to Basics
April 7, 2010
It is well established that sanitation is the most critical part of any food safety program. Indeed, a significant proportion of high profile foodborne illness outbreaks can be linked to failures in sanitation. In this presentation the history of sanitation and evolution of regulations will be covered. An overview on how to develop a sanitation plan and approaches to verify the efficacy of sanitation will be discussed. The range of sanitizing methods (physical, chemical and biological) available will be described and how to select the most appropriate approach for specific applications outlined. Finally, future trends in plant sanitation and hand washing technologies will be provided.