Chapter 9 - Environmental Monitoring to Prevent Facility-Related Hazards

Abstract

All food facilities can become contaminated with potential hazards introduced by the food ingredients and packaging received, stored, and used in the processing facility. Employees and personnel who work in the facility may also bring hazards into a food manufacturing facility. The most common of these potential transplanted hazards are biological hazards, including the pathogens Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli. When these hazards remain in a facility, they may contaminate food products, including ready-to-eat (RTE) foods that will not go through any additional kill steps or may not be formulated to prohibit pathogen growth during food transport and storage. Such facility-related hazards have caused significant foodborne disease outbreaks. The pathogen L. monocytogenes is the most common facility-related cause of outbreaks for several reasons: this pathogen is more virulent in humans than Salmonella or E. coli, it can grow at refrigeration temperatures, and it survives freezing. In addition to biological hazards, food allergens (e.g., peanut protein, milk, or egg) may also contaminate food processing environments and food products manufactured within them. The best way to control both biological and food allergen environmental hazards is to utilize hygienic zoning within the facility. Hygienic zoning involves segregating food preparation areas based on potential hazards and using environmental monitoring to verify preventive controls are effectively managing biological and food allergen hazards in the facility. New rapid testing technologies, especially whole genome sequencing, can link pathogens to their source, enhancing root-cause investigations in an environmental monitoring program to prevent potential pathogen hazards such as L. monocytogenes or Salmonella in food products.