Learning Center
Ah, the beauty and purity of a new cleaning tool. Freshly removed from any packaging, and unsullied by the elements: nothing but possibility ahead of it. Whether you enjoy opening new tools as much as I apparently do, or you are more in the “pop it open, because there is a ton of stuff to do” camp, there are a few tips that our friends from Remco have provided to get the best out of your new cleaning tool. These simple steps help to ensure safety before the first use.
How to Prepare a New Cleaning Tool for Use
New cleaning tools—especially those sealed in plastic pouches like the ones from Vikan® and Remco—often look like they’re ready for use right out
Not only has COVID put a significant dent in our social lives, but it also has impacted many operations and practices throughout food processing facilities. Unfortunately, this
Ten years...that’s a long time, right? But...not really. The more I see 10th, 20th, or 25th-anniversary releases of favorite albums or movies, the more I feel like time is slipping away...and ten years seems more like a blink. So, when you consider the dichotomy of the slow and all-too-quick hands of time, it’s impressive how much has been accomplished, and yet how far we have to go in food safety since the Food Safety Modernization Act was enacted in early 2011.
As much as it would be great to go with either a “yay” or “nay” as to whether it has been a success, like many pieces of major legislation, there have been both phenomenal strides as well as stagnation. As food safety is a complex undertaking, involving waves of domestic and global political and trade relations, budgetary concerns, etc., the quality assurance of the Act itself can be a challenge at times. As we’ll see though, overwhelmingly,
Resources made available with Nelson-Jameson's Learning Center! This educational learning library was created to encourage our customers to seek out information, when applicable, to aid them in making informed purchasing decisions within the food, dairy, and beverage industries. By providing this free resource for anyone to use, our goal is to have you feel comfortable and confident in the products you purchase.
An intriguing aspect of our Learning Center is that the information we are providing is supplied to us by manufacturers, and industry associations. It is our goal to relay to you the most up-to-date information for your convenience. The information within this resource falls into several categories: Laboratory & QA/QC, Packaging & Ingredients,
Achieve an effective sanitation program in your facility with footwear and surface sanitation products! In the food production process, cross-contamination can occur at any point. Employees can track in a myriad of potential contaminants and unknowingly put an operation at risk each time they breeze through a doorway to a production area. Having an effective sanitation program in place that addresses employee hygiene is key.
A primary route of contamination is the bottom of people's shoes, so cleaning footwear has become just as important as washing hands when coming into a facility. "Items which contact the floor are contaminated and could serve as vectors; despite daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces such as floors, it has already been shown that bacterial and viral contamination return rather quickly" (Pyrek, 2018, pp. 1). To help combat this issue, Nelson-Jameson carries several options for minimizing contamination from footwear including:
Effectively managing water activity is crucial for maintaining the quality of water in your products, as it can prevent a host of expensive problems, including microbial growth, mold, texture loss, caking, clumping, rancidity, and vitamin degradation. To help you tackle these challenges, Nelson-Jameson presents an industry-leading range of equipment and consumables designed to ensure food quality, safety, and overall profitability in water testing. The Water Activity Meter offered by Nelson-Jameson is a simple, rapid, and portable system for measuring water activity, ensuring product safety with its durability, ease of use, and low maintenance requirements. Additionally, the Aqualab 3 and Aqualab 4TE provide fast, accurate, and repeatable water activity readings, offering precise measurements with minimal training and administrative control over calibration and sample data. The Aqualab TDL 2 extends this capability to accurately read any sample, including those with volatiles, providing
A light snow falls on a cold December afternoon. Up pulls the delivery person with a parcel for you. As you eagerly await them to make their way up to the entryway, you can’t
According to the FDA, "one of the most commonly documented food safety problems in plants have involved sanitation monitoring, including checking food-contact surfaces and plant cleanliness" (Schug, para. 1). To make matters even more complicated, the
COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal operations as well for countless food and beverage manufacturers. Disruptions may occur due to limited staff because of layoffs, social distancing requirements, or sickness. These situations on top of the normal expectations of having a clean food plant, can lead to the need of resources for food safety sanitation.
It is essential that food manufacturers create safe, quality food, therefore, routine practices need to continue, and additional sanitation protocols may need to be added. Employers also need to ensure a safe environment for their staff, including minimizing the risk of being exposed
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
Biofilms are hearty amalgams of microbiological activity that provide protection for microorganisms, and can form on a variety of surfaces in food processing environments, including stainless steel. A supercell of harborage, "Biofilms are complex microbial ecosystems formed by one or more species immersed in an extracellular matrix of different compositions depending on the type of food manufacturing environment and the colonizing species" (Geaile, et al). The "matrix" formed creates a powerful source of protection and fuel.
Though biofilms are capable of creating a lot of hassle when it comes to cleaning, spoilage concerns, etc., Gaile, et al, in "Biofilms in the Food Industry: Health Aspects and Control Methods" note: "Of particular importance to the food industry is that some biofilm-forming species in food factory environments are human pathogens." With biofilms aiding and abetting pathogens, the cost of not waging an effective sanitation onslaught, may create food safety
