Monthly Archives: October 2020

Be on the (Food) Defense with Contamination in Your Plant

Posted by Marketing Dept.  –  Education, Food Safety, General, Safety & Personnel, Sanitation & Janitorial
October 30, 2020

Significantly minimize food vulnerabilities with Nelson-Jameson’s food defense product solutions! According to the FDA, food defense is defined as, “the effort to protect food from acts of intentional adulteration” (Food Defense, 2020, para. 1). Intentional adulteration could include various contaminations that are intended to cause harm to the public. In order to prevent and protect from harmful contamination, a food defense plan needs to be established. A food defense plan first consists of your facility completing a vulnerability assessment.  This assessment is to determine where in the facility’s processes pose the greatest risk for contamination. Second, mitigation strategies need to be selected for identified vulnerabilities, and lastly, corrective action needs to be implemented. Nelson-Jameson has products that are designed to assist with mitigation and preventative strategies within your facility and aid in your food defense plan:

• Use color-coded personnel identification and badges to clearly identify authorized personnel around restricted locations, equipment, controls, and operations.

• Use tamper-evident devices, such as seals, covers, and locks, to secure openings, access points, equipment, and components, packaging, and storage containers.

• Clean and sanitize equipment components immediately prior to use and after maintenance.

• Use Clean in Place (CIP) cleaning chemicals and prescribed CIP procedures such as pre-rinse, wash, post-rinse, drain, and sanitize.

• Use one-way valves and sample ports to restrict access to product.

• Use coverings to secure openings, access points and open systems and operations such as shrouds, covers, lids, panels, and seals to restrict access to product.

After the assessment has been completed and you have determined the correct mitigation strategies, you can finalize your plan and determine its functionality. According to the USDA on the topic of functional food defense plans, the four main factors to determine the functionality of your plan includes:

  1. Documenting and signing.
  2. Implementing the food defense strategies.
  3. The strategies are monitored and validated.
  4. The plan is reviewed, at least annually, and revised as needed.

Following the above strategies and functionality timeline can help you with starting to develop your facilities food defense plan. This strategic approach could potentially protect the entire food supply chain from an intentional chemical, microbiological, or physical contamination. Also, most food defense plans overlap with company’s food quality and safety goals (Yoe et al., 2008). Nelson-Jameson has a wide range of products to help you aid in developing the food defense plan your facility needs. If your facility needs help in identifying which mitigation strategies are best suited for you, contact us today!

Sources:

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (n.d.). Food Defense. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.fda.gov/food/food-defense

Functional Food Defense Plans. FSIS, USDA, 2 Aug. 2018, www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-defense-and-emergency-response/functional-food-defense-plan/functional-plans.

Yoe, Charles, et al. The Value of the Food Defense Plan. Food Safety Magazine, 2008, www.foodsafetymagazine.com/magazine-archive1/aprilmay-2008/the-value-of-the-food-defense-plan/.

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Sugar, Spice, and Everything Mice

Posted by Makenzie Wozniak  –  Education, Food Safety, General, Sanitation & Janitorial
October 9, 2020

Ahhh yes, my favorite time of year, fall! The leaves are changing, the temperature is starting to cool down, and pests are trying to wither their way indoors. As the colder months start to approach, it’s important to realize that fall pest control is a must! Although pest control is essential for all seasons of the year, it is very important to prep your food processing facility for the winter.

The key to controlling pests is through prevention, defense, and management measures. It’s important to know the calling signs of each of the categories of pests, so you can determine what products you will need for each. For insects, birds, and rodents, there are many similar calling signs, these include; droppings, visual sightings, eggs/hatchlings, noise, etc. When there is suspicion of pests present in your facility, it is important to do a thorough inspection of both the interior and exterior of the facility to determine the issue.

Nelson-Jameson offers a variety of products to suit your pest control needs. For rodents, consider 
Stick-Em® Rodent Traps, NJ# 202-6010. These traps are effective and don’t pose the danger to employees of spring traps or uncertainty of box traps. Looking to combat insects? Try a Insect-O-Cutor® Guardian Scatterproof Unit, NJ# 343-6392. Scatterproof units are ideal for use in proximity to open food processing areas as they are USDA and FDA approved.  Aside from this unit, Nelson-Jameson offers other popular items to repel insects, such as light traps. Here are some helpful tips to ensure you are maximizing the most use out of your light trap(s):

  • Use a trap that is best determined for the area it will reside in.
  • Change out your bulbs according to manufacturer recommendations.
  • Shatter protection must be in place where food or packaging may become contaminated from broken glass.
  • Glueboard traps must be changed/replaced once the glue loses its tackiness.

No matter what time of year it is, pest control is something that plants need to be looking at regularly, as different pests are more active in different seasons. In the fall season though, it is primarily important because pests are looking for a place to stay warm during the winter. At Nelson-Jameson, we believe that staying ahead of the game is important to avoid costly shutdowns within food processing environments. Click here for more information regarding how to effectively eliminate pests from your work environment and to avoid these costly shutdowns.

Sources:

Why Fall Pest Control Is So Important. (2014, September 9). American Pest. https://www.americanpest.net/blog/post/why-fall-pest-control-is-so-important#:%7E:text=In%20fall%2C%20bugs%20and%20rodents,pest%20control%20is%20so%20important.&text=They%20can%20stop%20many%20bugs%20before%20they%20even%20get%20to%20your%20home

 

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