THERMAL PROCESSING 

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Module 3. Principles of Food Plant 

Sanitation 

Thermal Processing for Meat and Poultry 

Products Training 

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Introduction 

 The term “sanitation” is often applied to just 

the cleaning and sanitizing of equipment and 

production areas 

 Sanitation has much broader applications: 

• includes activities designed to prevent 

product adulteration 

• includes activities designed to minimize 

spoilage (economic loss) 

• includes activities designed to prevent 

contamination with materials that may 

offend consumers (aesthetic senses) 

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Introduction 

 Food plant sanitation addressed in federal 

regulations 

• FDA – CGMP regulation (21 CFR 110) 

• Specific sanitizer formulations approved by FDA 

are listed in 21 CFR 178.1010 

• FDA – fish and fishery products (21 CFR 123) 

• FDA – juice and juice products (21 CFR 120) 

• FSIS – meat and poultry (9 CFR 416) 

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Introduction 

 Thermally processed foods are safe and 

stable because they are given a final heat 

treatment designed to destroy or inactivate 

microorganisms 

 The hermetically sealed containers protect the 

foods against microbial recontamination 

before, during and after the thermal process 

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Introduction 

 It is important to remember that the thermal 

processes are not designed to destroy an 

infinite number of microorganisms 

 Canning operations must include appropriate 

steps to minimize the number of 

microorganisms that are present on the food 

before those foods are placed in the container 

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Introduction 

 A comprehensive sanitation program is 

essential for controlling microorganisms in a 

food processing plant 

 Chlorine and other sanitizing agents are 

necessary chemicals for this purpose. 

 Sanitizers alone cannot ensure food safety 

 Effective cleaning, proper operating 

procedures and practices, and appropriate 

controls are all important 

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Sources of Microbial Contamination 

 The thermal process must destroy or 

inactivate all microorganisms capable of 

growing and reproducing in that product at 

normal conditions of storage and distribution 

 Thermal processes are established to 

accomplish this task effectively, resulting in 

production of commercially sterile products 

 A thermal process may be ineffective if there 

are excessive numbers of microorganisms 

present on or in the food 

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Sources of Microbial Contamination 

 Numbers and types of microorganisms in a 

product depend on whether they are: 

• brought into the plant on raw products 

• picked up by the food as it passes through or 

over equipment or by employee contact 

• contributed by water during washing, 

conveying, or preparation 

• contained in ingredients added to the product 

• in the cooling water for thermally processed 

containers 

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Control of Microbial Contamination 

 Because microorganisms are present on raw 

agricultural products, all raw products must be 

cleaned and washed as thoroughly as 

possible when they enter the plant 

 Effectively cleaning and washing raw products 

is also essential to maintaining a clean plant 

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Control of Microbial Contamination 

 Equipment must be cleaned frequently 

• to minimize growth on food-contact 

surfaces and 

• thereby minimizing transfer to the food 

 Cleaning is especially important for heated 

equipment where a potential exists for spore 

build-up, particularly thermophiles: 

• Wash raw product that has passed through 

heated equipment, preferably in cold water 

10 • Keep temperature above 170°F 
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Control of Microbial Contamination 

 Ingredients such as starch, sugars, powdered 

milk, and spices used in formulation are 

potential sources of contamination 

 Most important are the thermophiles that 

become incorporated into the ingredients 

during manufacture 

• These may be controlled by using 

ingredients that are guaranteed by the 

supplier to be free of thermophilic microorganisms 

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Control of Microbial Contamination 

 Water used for washing, conveying, and 

preparing food or for cooling must be of good 

sanitary quality (or rendered so) 

 The use of appropriate sanitizing agents is an 

effective method of controlling 

microorganisms in water, on raw product, and 

on equipment surfaces 

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Sanitizers 

 Using sanitizers is important in preventing 

spoilage of prepared foods and in maintaining 

a sanitary food processing environment 

 Sanitizing is defined as adequately treating 

food-contact surfaces by a process that is 

effective in 

• destroying vegetative cells of 

microorganisms of public health 

significance and 

• substantially reducing the numbers of other 

microorganisms 13 
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Sanitizers 

 Sanitizing treatment must not adversely affect 

food products or their safety for consumers 

 Until recently, agents most widely used in 

establishments were chlorine, iodine, and 

quaternary ammonium compounds 

 Other sanitizers have received regulatory 

approval and have found applications in the 

food industry 

 Chlorine compounds are still the most widely 

used sanitizers in the industry 

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Sanitation of Container 

Cooling Water 

 With the speed of container handling 

operations and the vacuum in containers, 

small deformities in the closure cannot be 

completely avoided 

 This may be a factor in the incidence of 

product spoilage due to post-process 

contamination 

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Significance of Bacteria 

in Cooling Water 

 The bacterial condition of water in which 

containers are cooled is extremely important 

• Because there are 20 drops per ml, cooling 

water containing 100 bacteria per ml would 

have 5 per drop 

• The seal must protect against the entrance 

of 1/5 of a drop to prevent contamination. 

• Most unchlorinated cooling waters contain 

more than 100 bacteria per ml 

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Significance of Bacteria 

in Cooling Water 

 The bacterial condition of water is important 

• However, if cooling water contained one million 

bacteria per ml, it would have 50,000 per drop 

• The seal must protect against the entrance of 

1/50,000 of a drop to prevent contamination 

• Even the best closure would not guarantee 

protection against leaker spoilage at this level 

 Sanitary quality of the water must be maintained 

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Container Cooling Water 

Regulations 

 The FSIS regulation 9 CFR 431.6(h)(2) and 

(3) states that cooling water in canals or recirculated systems must be chlorinated or 

otherwise sanitized 

 For cooling canals, there must be a 

measurable residual of sanitizer where water 

discharged from the cooling system 

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Container Cooling Water 

Regulations 

 Recirculation systems: 

• must be designed, operated and 

maintained so there is no buildup of organic 

materials 

• information on design, construction, 

operation and maintenance, and water 

quality must be provided (see 9 CFR 

431.6(h)) 

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Recirculation of Container 

Cooling Water 

 As a water conservation procedure, water is 

often re-circulated over a cooling tower 

• Reduces the temperature so the water can 

be reused for cooling 

• Microbial count can increase in a very short 

time 

 Water must be chlorinated or otherwise 

sanitized before returning to the cooler 

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Recirculation of Container 

Cooling Water 

 It is also desirable to sanitize the water being 

pumped to the cooling tower to prevent or 

minimize the growth in microorganisms within 

the tower 

 When the water is chlorinated prior to the 

tower, some chlorine may remain 

 Only minimal rechlorination is then needed to 

achieve the recommended chlorine level at 

the discharge end 

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-

CANS 

IN 

CHLORINE 

COOKER 

SAMPLE SITE FOR 

RESIDUAL CHLORIN\_ 

SUMP 

TO SANITIZE TOWER WAT1

ER DISCHARGE 

-coOLING-

- TOWER -

RETURN TO TOWER 

WATER 

MAKE UP 

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Schematic of Cooling Tower 

Recycling System 

Chlorine is added in an amount required to maintain a 

measurable residual of chlorine at the water discharge of the 

container cooler. Periodically, highly chlorinated water may be 

recycled through the cooling tower to “burn off” microbial slime 

growth from the tower surfaces. 22 
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Recirculation of Container 

Cooling Water 

 One advantage of treating recycled cooling 

water with a sanitizer is that spores are 

exposed for a prolonged period of time to the 

germicidal action of the sanitizer 

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Questions 

THERMAL PROCESSING 

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Questions?

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