Looking for something? Search here:
site search by freefind advanced
Linked advertisements

Petri dish showing numerous fungi and mould

Sterilising bottle by flaming

Number of visits to date:

Visitors Counter

Hygiene inspection and auditing services that we offer are:

  • Inspection of premises and reporting thereof, including free telephonic consultations;
  • Microbiogical evaluation of ingredients and final product;
  • Audit checklist with food safety recommendations;
  • Issuing Certificates of Cleanliness;terms and conditions apply;
  • Full laboratory report on swabs and samples;
  • HACCP consulting;
  • Tracing contamination of products or raw materials;
  • Investigating and reporting on food poisoning complaints;
  • Training of food handlers in English or Zulu;
  • Training of factory supervisors in English or Zulu.

Note that we can backup our hygiene inspections with a wide range of in-house laboratory testing services, including nutritional analysis.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

Our hygiene auditing procedure (SOP), aka private health inspector services, are as follows:

The object of the audit/inspection is to assist the client in promoting food safety within his/her organisation and to reduce the probability of any food poisoning occurrences.

  • Our auditor/inspector will arrive at the client's premises (e.g. food factory, fast-food outlet, catering kitchen, etc.) un-announced;
  • He/she will inspect the premises, processes, staff handling of foodstuffs, evaluation of the client's GMP and any other operation that might cause contamination of the food product;
  • He/she will also take 5 swabs (surfaces, equipment, staff hands); these swabs will be tested onsite;
  • A sample of the finished product will be taken randomly by the auditor/inspector and sent to our laboratories for pathogenic bacteria evaluation;
  • On immediate conclusion of the inspection, our auditor/inspector will issue to the client's representative, a checklist report including the results of the swabs taken;
  • A retail sample will also be taken from a local shop/outlet to check the bacterial quality of the food product manufactured;
  • A final comprehensive report including our laboratory test results on the retail sample, will be issued to the client within 8 working days;

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE


Some common terms used in HACCP and Food Safety programmes, are:

  • HACCP:  Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points;
  • PRP: Pre-Requisite Programme;
  • GMP: Good Manufacturing Practice;
  • GAP: Good Agricultural Practice;
  • PO: Process Objectives;
  • PC: Process Criteria;
  • FSO: Food Safety Objectives.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE


Foreign Objects in Foodstuffs

Article by Camilla Barrow, Operations Manager, Bio-Science Technologies (Pty) Ltd

Foreign objects can enter food products in a number of ways:

  1. inherent in raw materials before processing;
  2. during the manufacturing process;
  3. during the packing process;
  4. during transport;
  5. during retail display.

An example of a foreign object introduced before processing may be an initial contamination in a raw material commodity (such as corn that had stones or stalks).
An example of foreign objects introduced during manufacturing or packing are metallic objects from machinery breakdowns or repairs.
Generally foreign object contamination does not occur during transport or retail display. This is due to protection of the foodstuff from outside contamination by the packaging. Lengthy transport periods (road, sea freight) or retail display periods (long shelf life, low turnover stock items) may result in packaging being compromised by insect infestation, or faulty sealing of the packaging.
The majority of foreign objects found in foodstuffs are harmless to the consumer, but are unsightly and indicate lack of good manufacturing practice (GMP). Some foreign objects can result in harm to consumers, such as the presence of glass slivers or other small sharp objects.
Ready to eat foods contaminated by foreign objects may be spoiled by the introduction of micro-organisms introduced by the foreign object.
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles can be used to reduce the possibility of contamination. Prerequisite programs (PRP) allow a manufacturing facility to formulate operating procedures that will reduce the chances of contamination.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

For chemical testing laboratories in South Africa:

Check out Chem-Science Laboratories
Chemscience logo Visit us at our website!
For other stuff, check out our general website at www.laboratories.co.za