Protective Clothing Procedure

Define protective clothing requirements by work area

Technical / Quality Management determines and documents the protective clothing requirements for each work area, including differences between areas and the rules that apply when personnel leave the production environment. Where relevant, the documented requirements also define where protective clothing is put on, removed and stored.

Provision and suitability are carried through into practical design controls. Site-issued clothing is required in production areas, and the procedure specifies features intended to reduce contamination risk, including no external pockets above the waist, no sewn-on buttons, full containment of scalp hair and beard or moustache snoods where these are required.

Where protective clothing forms part of an allergen cross-contact control, the requirement is determined through the Management of Allergens Procedure. Separate procedures govern the additional changing, entry and protective-clothing controls used in high-risk and high-care zones.

Allocate responsibility from control design to routine use

Senior Management provides the resources and organisational support needed for protective clothing controls. Technical / Quality Management owns the area requirements, laundering-validation criteria, exceptional employee-laundering approval, risk-based change frequencies, glove requirements and cleaning or disinfection requirements for non-launderable items.

Site Management ensures sufficient clothing is available, while Department Managers / Supervisors make the required clothing available within their areas, communicate the applicable requirements and monitor day-to-day compliance. Employees are responsible for following the requirements relevant to their work and for wearing, changing or replacing protective clothing and gloves as specified.

Validate laundering before protective clothing is used

Protective clothing that requires laundering is controlled through an approved contracted laundry or an approved in-house laundry. Technical / Quality Management defines the criteria used to validate laundering effectiveness and confirms that the process meets those criteria before it is used.

For contracted laundry, the service provider is approved and monitored through the Supplier & Raw Material Approval and Performance Monitoring Procedure. Its documented laundering arrangements must segregate dirty and cleaned clothing, achieve effective cleaning and protect cleaned clothing from contamination during return to the site and until use.

For in-house laundry, documented operating conditions must achieve effective cleaning while maintaining segregation and protection. Technical / Quality Management validates the process against the defined criteria and retains evidence that continued effectiveness can be demonstrated. Clothing is not issued or used where laundering effectiveness, segregation or protection from contamination cannot be demonstrated.

Keep employee laundering as a controlled exception

Employee laundering is not the normal laundering route. Technical / Quality Management may permit it only where the protective clothing is not used for product-safety purposes and is worn only in enclosed-product or low-risk areas.

Where the exception is approved, the laundering arrangements and their continuing conditions remain under Technical / Quality Management control, and Department Managers / Supervisors ensure the clothing is used only for the permitted purposes and areas. Clothing that does not meet the approved requirements is not used and is redirected to an approved alternative laundering arrangement.

Set risk-based change frequencies and glove requirements

Protective clothing change frequency is determined by Technical / Quality Management using the clothing type, work area, product and activity as relevant. Personnel change clothing when the defined change is due and also before the next routine change where it becomes soiled, contaminated, damaged or otherwise unsuitable for continued use.

Glove controls are also defined for the intended use. The procedure requires regular replacement and enables Technical / Quality Management to determine the applicable requirements for food-use suitability, disposable type, distinctive colour and intact condition. Gloves must not shed loose fibres and are replaced whenever damage, contamination or deterioration makes them unsuitable.

Control non-launderable protective clothing

For protective clothing that is not suitable for laundering, Technical / Quality Management documents the cleaning and disinfection requirements and determines a risk-based frequency appropriate to the item and its use. Department Managers / Supervisors ensure the defined frequency is followed, and personnel carrying out the task work to the applicable controlled instructions.

Where the detailed method forms part of the site’s cleaning programme, it is controlled through the Housekeeping & Hygiene Procedure rather than being duplicated within this document.

Restrict work and assess product when requirements are not met

Department Managers / Supervisors do not permit entry or continued work where the required protective clothing is unavailable, unsuitable or not worn correctly. The same principle applies when suitable replacement clothing or required gloves are unavailable: affected work is restricted until the applicable requirement can be met.

Where a protective clothing failure may have affected product, Technical / Quality Management ensures that potentially affected product is assessed and controlled through the Non-Conforming Product Control Procedure. Repeated or significant failures that require investigation, root cause analysis or systemic corrective action are managed through the Corrective & Preventive Action Procedure.

Connect protective clothing controls with the wider FSQMS

Protective clothing requirements are communicated to employees, agency and temporary personnel, contractors and visitors before the relevant work or entry. Site-entry controls for contractors and visitors are managed through the Layout, Product Flow & Segregation Procedure, while training delivery and competence management sit within the Training & Competence Procedure.

Together, these interfaces keep the current procedure focused on protective-clothing controls while linking them to the documented, training, supplier, hygiene, product-control and corrective-action arrangements that support their implementation.