Housekeeping & Hygiene Procedure

Base cleaning requirements on documented risk assessment

Cleaning requirements are determined through a documented risk assessment conducted by Technical Management with Hygiene Management. The assessment identifies the premises areas and equipment that require cleaning and determines frequencies, methods, dismantling or access needs, chemicals and concentrations, cleaning materials and equipment, performance limits and verification methods according to product, process and environmental risk.

The assessment considers factors including product type, production zoning, proximity to exposed product, microbiological, allergen, foreign-body and chemical hazards, equipment cleanability, production scheduling and changeover risks. Those outputs become the basis for the documented cleaning instructions, resource planning, execution, verification and equipment-release controls that follow.

Define cleaning instructions, measurable limits and release criteria

Documented cleaning instructions, including CICs or SSOPs, translate the risk assessment into defined cleaning activities, responsibilities, items and areas to be cleaned, frequencies, methods, chemicals, concentrations, materials and equipment. They also define the records and sign-off requirements and responsibility for verifying cleaning effectiveness.

Cleaning performance limits provide objective acceptance criteria for the hygienic condition of premises and equipment after cleaning. Depending on the assessed hazards, those criteria may use visual, analytical, microbiological, allergen or chemical measures. Equipment is checked before production use and is released only when verification confirms that the defined acceptable cleaning performance limits have been achieved.

Control cleaning equipment and use verification data to improve performance

The procedure extends hygiene control to the equipment used for cleaning. Cleaning equipment must be fit for purpose, hygienically designed, suitably identified for its intended use and segregated according to area risk. Where allergenic materials are handled, the control may require dedicated, single-use or effectively cleaned and verified equipment, as determined by risk assessment. Specific contamination risks, including glass or brittle-plastic breakage, also require dedicated and clearly identifiable equipment.

Verification results are recorded and reviewed by Quality Personnel under Quality Management to confirm effectiveness, identify deterioration and determine whether improvements are needed. Review is required at least annually and is also triggered by failures against cleaning limits, cleaning-related non-conformances, contamination incidents or product failures.

Where cleaning results fall outside the defined limits, the affected area or equipment is subject to additional cleaning and re-verification until acceptable performance is achieved. The occurrence is recorded and linked to corrective and preventive action, including root-cause investigation and measures intended to prevent recurrence.

Design, validate and monitor CIP as a controlled cleaning system

For enclosed equipment cleaned by CIP, the procedure defines responsibilities across Engineering and Technical Management for system design, validation, maintenance, change control and continued effectiveness. Engineering Management is responsible for system design and maintenance, while Technical Management confirms that the design supports effective cleaning and supervises validation activities carried out by Engineering Technicians.

CIP performance is controlled through defined process parameters. At a minimum, these include stage times, detergent concentration, flow rate, pressure and temperature, with Technical Management defining acceptable and unacceptable limits and validation confirming that the limits achieve the required cleaning outcome.

Routine operation combines process-parameter checks with verification of system configuration and component operation, including connections, piping, valves and spray devices. Defined stages of each cleaning cycle are checked for completion, and Quality Personnel verify cleaning outcomes, including drainage where required. Where operation or outcomes fall outside defined limits, the deviation is reported and Quality Management determines the corrective action with Engineering Management so that the required controls can be restored.

Use environmental monitoring to test the effectiveness of hygiene control

Technical Management establishes a documented environmental monitoring programme based on product, process and environmental risk. The programme covers production areas where open product and/or ready-to-eat products are handled and defines sampling instructions, locations, frequencies, target organisms or indicators, test methods, and requirements for recording and evaluating results.

Monitoring design takes account of product characteristics, production-zone classification, proximity to exposed product, microbiological risk, historical results, previous contamination events, traffic flows and potential contamination routes. Results are evaluated against defined control and action limits so that adverse conditions, repeated positives and emerging trends can be identified.

Escalate adverse environmental results and adjust the programme when needed

Where environmental results exceed action limits, or evaluation identifies adverse trends or repeated positive findings, Quality Management initiates investigation, defines corrective and preventive actions, ensures implementation by the appropriate operational teams and assesses whether additional cleaning, intensified monitoring or control changes are required.

The environmental monitoring programme is reviewed at least annually and also after relevant changes or evidence that may alter contamination risk or challenge its effectiveness. These triggers include changes to processes, product characteristics, equipment or exposure, contamination detected through external testing, complaints or regulatory findings, product failures linked to the environment, deteriorating trends and consistently negative results that warrant confirmation that the programme remains appropriately targeted.

Where review shows that the programme is not fully effective, Technical Management identifies gaps in sampling locations, methods, frequencies or target organisms and adjusts the programme to improve its detection capability.

Allocate responsibility across the functions that maintain hygiene control

Senior Management provides the personnel, equipment, materials and infrastructure needed to support cleaning, disinfection, CIP and environmental monitoring. Technical or Quality Management establishes the control framework, defines methods and limits, reviews verification and monitoring data and determines corrective and preventive action where performance deteriorates or falls outside defined limits.

Hygiene Management and operatives implement cleaning activities and maintain hygienic conditions; Engineering maintains CIP systems and provides specialist access or technical intervention; and Production or Operations Management coordinates production so effective cleaning can take place and checks equipment cleanliness before release into use. The procedure therefore keeps execution, technical oversight, engineering support and production release responsibilities distinct.

A hygiene-control procedure within the wider FSQMS

Within the wider Suite, this procedure interfaces with corrective and preventive action, document control, record completion and maintenance, product inspection and laboratory analysis, HACCP governance and site standards. Those interfaces preserve the boundaries between the current procedure and the supporting controls used to manage records, controlled documents, testing methods and corrective action.

For technical, quality, hygiene, engineering and operations teams, the procedure provides a developed framework for linking risk-based cleaning requirements with measurable acceptance criteria, release decisions, CIP control, environmental monitoring and evidence of continuing hygiene performance.