When operating a meat processing plant, the cleaning and sanitisation process is one of the most critical processes to ensure the safety of your food, the quality of your food and your business’ reputation. There are serious dangers associated with meat processed in an unsanitary plant, it is important that businesses work with high-quality cleaning companies that they can trust.
Orbit Cleaning Services Australia specialises in cleaning and sanitisation for food manufacturing plants, specifically meat processing plants. Below, we’re sharing our best practices for cleaning and sanitisation in meat processing plants.
The Importance of Robust Cleaning and Sanitisation Practices
Having good cleaning and sanitisation practices in your meat processing plant is essential to your business. Failing to clean and sanitise properly can be detrimental to your business, especially if a case of food-borne illness can be traced back to your manufacturing plant. In addition, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand have standards that must be adhered to for high-risk food businesses, including meat manufacturing plants. At Orbit Cleaning Services Australia, we will clean your facility in accordance with industry standards, but at the same time, tailor our services specifically to your processing plant. The first phase is the preparation phase.
Preparation Phase
1. Pre-Wash
Before beginning any cleaning with products, our team perform a pre-wash where we remove any visible debris with hot water. This is an essential step, in order to sufficiently clean and sanitise a meat processing plant any debris including meat scraps, manure and dirt must be removed before any cleaning can commence.
2. Sweeping
The next stage is to sweep the floor to further ensure that any dirt, dust and debris is removed. This is all part of the preparation phase and is essential to ensure that the cleaning and sanitisation products can work effectively. Once this is complete, the process can then move into the cleaning phase.
Cleaning Phase
3. Foaming
The next step is the foaming process where our team covers the entire room, including walls, floors and equipment with a foam cleaning product. However, these aren’t your regular cleaning products. Instead, they are designed specifically for food processing plants to ensure that germs and bacteria are targeted effectively and brought to a safe level.
4. Scrubbing
Once the foaming agent has been applied to all areas of the processing plant, our cleaners will manually scrub every area using specialised commercial cleaning equipment to ensure that all bacteria is removed effectively. It is important to ensure that a range of equipment is used that is suited for hard-to-reach spaces, drains, and extra-sensitive areas. No surface or piece of equipment should be left without being cleaned and checked.
5. Washing
After thoroughly scrubbing every surface, our cleaners will wash the foam away to prepare the plant for the sanitisation phase. To further kill bacteria, hot water is used for this process and after all traces of the foam are removed, each surface is thoroughly checked and each piece of equipment is inspected with a flashlight to ensure everything is clean.
Sanitisation Phase
6. Sanitising
The final, yet most important step of the cleaning process is sanitisation. During the sanitisation process, the equipment, floors and walls are flooded with cool water before being sanitised using high-quality sanitisers designed specifically for meat processing plants. Once the sanitiser is applied, the cleaning team will undertake a swab and APT test on these areas to ensure surfaces are 100% sanitised.
Orbit Cleaning Services Australia specialise in commercial cleaning, specifically for food and meat processing plants. Working with a cleaning company that truly understands your industry and its processes is paramount in ensuring the safety of your employees, your customers and your business’ reputation. To book in for your obligation free quote, contact our team on 1300 660 699.