Clean It Or Recall It

The sanitation operation in a food plant has many hazards. The environment can be steamy, the water temmperatures hot, hazardous chemicals may be used and the processing equipment may mangle or kill an employee.

Regular training sessions on safety can reduce these hazards greatly. All sanitors should be required to wear the appropriate safety apparel. MSDS sheets should be made available to all employees upon request. Safety charts should be prominently displayed in the detergent storage area and any other place where extremely hazardous chemicals may be used. These charts should be bilingual, so all sanitation and even production personnel can read and interpret them for safety purposes. All sanitors should be trained on the proper usage of safety lock out devices for hazardous processing equipment they must clean.

Employees must know emergency treatment procedures in the event they or a fellow worker is burned by chemicals or sanitizers. Rinse the affected body area(s) with cool, potable water for a minimum of 15 minutes or preferably until professional help arrives. Never play doctor by attempting to neutralize a chemical burn with another chemical or applying a burn ointment.

Your detergent supplier can provide a great deal of assistance in establishing a meaningful safety program. Most chemical companies have developed excellent video tapes on sanitation chemical safety and overall sanitation safety. Use these video aids often in your on-going training sessions.

We discussed the hazards and the safety measures to counteract them. The sanitation operation does not have to be a hazard if the people are trained and outfitted properly. Just think about the hazards a housewife endures when she pours dry Drano into the kitchen sink drain to remove a clog. There is no MSDS sheet, no goggles / face shield, no protective clothing and the precautionary statement printed on the can is so small it can barely be read. Now ask yourself, who has the hazardous job and who is most likely to get hurt???