Food safety dominated the latest meeting of the FPSA’s Bakery Industry Council.

Food safety dominated the latest meeting of the FPSA’s Bakery Industry Council.

The council met during a recent get-together in Chicago between the members of the Food Processing Suppliers Association and the Institute of Food Technologists.

During the council’s meeting, Katherine Swanson, vice president of Ecolab, noted that the four major factors contributing to food-borne illnesses are food at room temperature for several hours; bare-hand contact by a food preparer; inadequate cleaning of equipment and handling by an infected person or carrier.

Additionally, Joseph Shebuski, director of global safety for Cargill, Inc., described how improper equipment design can compromise food safety.

Shebuski stressed that equipment needed to be designed for efficient and complete disassembly and reassembly and to eliminate areas likely to harbor pathogens or prevent the complete removal of allergens. In addition to ensuring that equipment is made of materials compatible with cleaning chemicals, equipment suppliers should provide direction for preventive maintenance and validation data demonstrating the capability of the equipment to achieve its intended purpose.

Ken Hagedorn of Alsip, Ill.-based Naegele, Inc., and Ed Fay of Joliet, Ill.-based CMC America, co-chair the FPSA’s Bakery Industry Council.