How does the clean room technology ensure that my food is safe? 

In ready-to-eat food processing the primary risk is post processing contamination or contamination of products after cooking when exposed to the environment. The clean room technology uses concepts found in the medical industry to control risks. These include specialized air handling systems to limit airborne and aerosolized contaminates that could be present, and individual rooms to limit cross contamination from one area to another. There are several benefits of this technology, however the science does not change. The rooms must be adequately cleaned, GMP’s and other procedures have to be performed, and monitoring must occur. Nevertheless, the use of this technology makes compliance and management of a food safety program far easier than standard single room slicing operations.

Why is food safety auditing so important? 

Retailers are moving to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) certification. West Liberty Foods has embraced the Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI) with open arms. All of our facilities are BRC certified. We acknowledge that some customers have specialized requirements, but we believe that using a standardized food safety audit system has advantages. This requires less resource drain from employees who must spend 2-3 days with an auditor when they have other requirements of their time. It is less expensive, and more time efficient to have one very comprehensive audit rather than several short non-specific activities. We believe that BRC and other Global standards  are a positive direction for our industry.

What is your internal food safety protocol?

There are many checks and procedures associated with the manufacturing of our products. At West Liberty Foods, we utilize swabbing routines, documentation line audits, etc. Each product has specific activities and protocol associated with it. We are always more than happy to re-review our programs, and have the flexibility to set new procedures to ensure critical quality attributes for your products.

What is High Pressure Processing (HPP) and what effects does it have on the product?

HPP provides quality extension and longer shelf-life while reducing dependence on preservatives. Pathogens are inactivated by HPP and the level of spoilage organisms is reduced significantly. The effect it may have on the product really depends on the product itself, however we have seen very limited negative effects of the process on sliced lunchmeat and other items.

Is HPP necessary and worth the cost? 

High Pressure Processing has been used in food processing for quite a while now, and its cost has come down significantly. For lower cost items that do not have specific limitations of ingredients, organic acids and other chemical antimicrobial systems appear to provide adequate protection at a lower cost. If the item has limited ingredients, the technology certainly provides an advantage.