Richard F. Stier, M.S. is a consulting food scientist who has helped food processors develop safety, quality and sanitation programs. He believes in emphasizing the importance of how these programs can help companies increase profits. Stier holds degrees in food science from Rutgers University and the University of California at Davis. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine.
Positive release programs are designed to ensure that any food product that is produced meets all quality, safety, sanitation, microbiological, and legal requirements before it is shipped.
Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to know and adhere to a set of rules that address food safety, basic sanitation, and safety. Plant rules for staff and visitors comprise elements of good hygiene culture and exist to minimize the potential for cross-contamination of foods, equipment, or utensils. Some of these elements have other roles, such as personal safety.
The objective of a glass and brittle plastic program is to minimize the potential for cross-contamination of food, ingredients, and packaging to ensure that foods and ingredients are safe and will not result in an injury or illness to end users.
It is up to each and every food processor, handler, and warehouser to develop, document, and implement a policy regarding photography of their operations. This is a much greater challenge today compared to 20 years ago because nearly every cellphone has a high-quality camera with the ability to capture both pictures and video. Operations that are regulated by FDA must also factor the agency into their camera policy.
One of the most common causes of allergen recalls is the use of the wrong package or wrong label on a container. It is imperative that food processors make sure that the correct label is placed on each and every product, especially for foods with allergens.
When one trains, the persons being trained learn a task by rote. When the focus is education, people learn how to do a task or about a subject, why said task or subject is important, why it is essential a protocol be followed, and the potential concerns if the procedure is not followed.