Verifiering av rengöringsprogrammets funktion i ett nötrosteri

Verification of the cleaning routines in a nut roastery The purpose of this report is to verify if the cleaning routines used in a specific nut roastery give an adequate cleaning and make the products microbiologically safe. Furthermore, controls of the products have been made with regard to allergens, personal hygiene, cooling, water content, water activity and the level of oxygen left in the packages. The company´s main business is to buy various kinds of nuts which are processed by roasting, frying or coating. And then they are salted and flavoured with spices. From a hygiene point of view nuts are quite easy to handle. The reason is that all microorganisms need water to grow. As the water activity in nuts is low this generally excludes many microorganisms. Only in exceptional cases there is a risk for growth of bacteria´s, but spores from mould can survive tough conditions. This has to be taken caution of in the cleaning routines. There should be no risk of mycotoxins as all nuts delivered have a certificate showing that tests have been made. To improve shelf life the roastery uses the MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging), i.e. the air in the package is replaced with nitrogen. The verification is based on the 170 microbiological tests made. The results show that there are some failures that have to be corrected. The most serious one is that there is a great risk of contamination from allergens in the production. The same equipment is used to process products both with allergens and without. As you never can be 100 % sure that there are no allergens at all left in the packages, it would be better to apply for a permit to mark the packages “contain traces of…” If somebody would get an allergic reaction from eating the company´s products, serious damages could be claimed and the company would risk losing customers if the safety can´t be guaranteed. The other thing to be mentioned is that the oxygen levels in several of the packages measured were too high. More tests have to be made to determine if this was just a coincidence or something that happens regularly. If the personnel should be able to fulfill the cleaning routines, more time has to be scheduled for this purpose. Today cleaning takes place if there is any time left. Everybody in the staff must be aware of the importance of good production hygiene, and take their responsibility to make the cleaning routines work.