Attachment 4 

SAMPLE – SANITATION STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SSOP)

XYZ Meat Packers, Inc. is a red meat processing establishment. This plant receives beef and 

pork for further processing. This plant cuts and grinds product and also packages it. 

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 

Owner – 

Plant Manager – 

Team Captains – 

The Team Captains are responsible for implementing and daily monitoring of Sanitation SOP and 

recording the findings and any corrective actions. The Team Captains are responsible for training 

and assigning specific duties to other employees and monitoring their performance within the 

Sanitation SOP. All records, data, checklists, and other information pertaining to the Sanitation 

SOP will be maintained on file and made available to inspection personnel. 

I. Preoperational Sanitation – Equipment and Facility Cleaning Objective 

A. All equipment will be disassembled, cleaned, and sanitized before starting production. 

1. Establishment sanitary procedure for cleaning and sanitizing equipment. 

a. All equipment will have product debris removed. 

b. Equipment will be rinsed with water to remove remaining debris. 

c. An approved cleaner will be applied to equipment and properly 

cleaned. 

d. Equipment will be sanitized with approved sanitizer and rinsed with 

potable water. 

e. The equipment is reassembled. 

2. Implementing, Monitoring and Recordkeeping 

Team Captains perform daily organoleptic sanitation inspection after 

preoperational equipment cleaning and sanitizing. The results will be 

recorded on a Preoperational sanitation form. If found to be acceptable, the 

appropriate line will be checked. If corrective actions are needed, such 

actions will be documented. 

3. Corrective Actions 

The Team Captains determines that the equipment on hand does not pass 

organoleptic examination, the cleaning procedure and inspections are 

repeated. The Team Captains monitor the cleaning of the equipment on hand 

and retrains employees if necessary. Corrective actions are recorded on PreOperational sanitation forms. 

B. Cleaning of Facilities including floors, walls, and ceilings. 

1. Cleaning procedures: 

a. Debris is swept up and discarded. 

b. Facilities are rinsed with potable water. 

c. Facilities are cleaned with approved cleaner. 

d. Facilities are rinsed with potable water. 

2. Cleaning of floors and walls are done at the end of each production day. 

Ceilings are cleaned as needed. 

3. Establishment monitoring 

The Team Captain performs daily organoleptic inspection before operation 

begins. Results are recorded on a preoperational sanitation form. 
4. Corrective action 

When the Team Captain finds that the facilities do not pass organoleptic 

inspection, the cleaning procedures and inspections are repeated. The Team 

Captain inspects the cleaning of the facilities and retrains employees as 

needed. Corrective action to prevent direct product contamination or 

adulteration are Recorded on Pre-operational sanitation forms. 

II. OPERATIONAL SANITATION—EQUIPMENT AND FACILITY CLEANING OBJECTIVE 

A. Processing is performed under sanitary conditions to prevent direct and cross 

contamination of the product. 

1. Sanitary procedures for processing. 

a. Employees clean and sanitize hands, gloves, knives, other hand tools, 

cutting boards, etc., as necessary during processing to prevent 

contamination of products. 

b. All equipment tables and other product contact surfaces are cleaned 

and sanitized throughout the day as needed. 

c. Outer garments such as aprons and gloves are hung in designed areas 

when employees leave processing area. Outer garments are maintained 

in a clean and sanitary manner and are changed at least daily and more 

often if necessary. 

2. Monitoring and Recordkeeping 

The Team Captains are responsible for ensuring that employees’ hygiene 

practices, sanitary handling procedures and cleaning procedures are 

maintained. The Team Captain monitors the sanitation procedures during the 

day. Results are recorded on an Operational Sanitation Form daily. 

3. Corrective Action 

The Team Captain identifies sanitation problems and stops production if 

necessary and notifies processing employees to take appropriate action to 

correct sanitation problems. If necessary, processing employees are retrained 

and corrective actions are recorded on Operational Sanitation form.