Domain 2 studies instructed by Allin Tallmadge ACS CCP®, Owner of The Cheese Bureau and an Administrator of Facebook’s Cheese Study Group. These are his tutorials for Operation Domain of the ACS Body of Knowledge. Please note: Operations has not previously been addressed specifically in the BOK, therefore, this is new information and important in your cheese studies.
Though there are many sectors of the Cheese Industry- Dairy Production, Cheese making, Affinage/Ripening, Distribution and Wholesale, Retail, and Food Service there is commonality among them all. We will be looking at those commonalities as we proceed through Operations.
We will be following the ACS Body of Knowledge outline for the Domain looking first at Facilities.
The operations that are carried out in a facility are determined by the function of that facility. Each sector of the cheese industry will have it predominate operations.
Production Sectors
In raw material production operations, the primary facilities the Dairy farm and Milk Processing. Operations include land preservation and resource management, animal husbandry, livestock nourishment and nutrition, extraction of raw material (milking), raw material adjustment (pasteurization, cream reduction, homogenization), storage, and delivery to customers.
In product production, i.e. the making of cheese the operations will include receiving and storing of raw material, the transforming those raw materials to product, preparing the product for market (ripening, aging, packaging), and delivering the product to market. Ancillary operations will include testing and evaluating raw materials and finish product, and cleaning and sanitizing work areas.
In both these sectors sanitation is a paramount concern and their facilities should reflect that concern. Design and construction must be built around the safe transport and safe handling of raw material and finished product from beginning of operation to end of operations.
The Market sectors
In Wholesale Distribution, the operations are primarily the receiving of product, storing and protecting product quality, product marketing, and delivery. Facilities in this sectors usual comprise of warehouse space and office space. Operations in the warehouse space involve movement of product, climate monitoring, inventory control, and receiving/delivery.
Some Distributors are also importers. Facilities with this operation will include a separate area for customs warehousing where product is received and stored awaiting customs inspection.
Some distributors have cut and packing operations. Product is divided portions by size or weight and packaged to retailers.
Some distributors have added the operation of transforming product. This entails receiving product from the producer either at an early stage of development and ripening it or adding time or ingredients to enhance its flavor profile. Facilities that contain these operations must include components similar to production facilities: i.e. limited access, use of protective foot ware and clothing, and sanitary protocols.
Operations in the office space involve order taking, invoicing and billing, marketing, and IT. The IT operation connects both the office and warehouse space.
In the Retail Market, operations are similar to operations in Distribution but shifting emphasis from storage to marketing and sales. Operations include receiving products, vendor relations, inventory management and control, product quality control, production presentation (cutting and wrapping), sales, and customer service. Facility design and construction must be concerned with adequate inventory storage, attractive presentation areas, office space recordkeeping and supply, and cleaning stations to maintain proper sanitation and food safety. Surfaces and equipment must be easily cleaned and sanitized.
Operations in Food Service are conducted largely in a food prep facility such as Kitchen. Operations such as receiving and storing of food stuffs, maintain clean food surfaces, refuse disposal, proper hand washing are all described and mandated by ServSafe protocols.
In Summary, facilities should be built and organized around the purpose for which they are intended. Operations involved in that purpose are defined by the activity of that purpose. All operations must have the following components: adequate record keeping, adequate and appropriate sanitation protocols, a safe and healthy work environment.
Sanitary Design:
is the first concern. Traffic between sanitary and unsanitary environment must be controlled and separated. This means having transition points between the two providing sanitizing stations for personnel as they move from one environment to the other. This can include washing stations, foot wear exchange, and protective clothing.
There should be a significant supply of water to handle washing and cleaning of production areas as well has handle the sanitary requirements in washrooms for staff. Ideally the water supply to production should be filtered. Along with supply there must be adequate sewer and septic systems in place to maintain a healthy environment.
The Facility structure should be located on a suitable site with adequate drainage to prevent incursion of water either from below or above. Building codes should be followed. Building material inside should be appropriate to the work being done and be properly sealed and coated. Exterior material such as siding and roofing should be inspected regularly to prevent incursion of water, molds or pests that could create an unsanitary condition.
There should be ample space for staff and visitor parking. There also needs to be adequate access space for delivery vehicles. This may mean a loading dock or area that can accommodate semi-trucks, panel truck or cargo vans. All access points should have transition space to prevent poor weather conditions from coming inside.
Lastly, Facility planning should be mindful of environment impact. Waste water and other liquids need proper capture and disposal systems. Air quality needs to be monitored and addressed if levels of contaminants such as ammonia, methane or CO2 become an issue. Conditions that engender pest invasion by either mammals or insects need immediate correction.
Facilities (continued)Zones
Today we continue looking at aspects and the particulars of Facility organization that are utilized by the various operations within the industry. Facilities across all sectors (Dairy, Cheese making, Affinage/Ripening, Distribution, Retail, and Food) should have two distinct zones. One zone comprises of non-food handling areas. The other would be concerned with Food handling and product preparation.
Non-food handling areas are areas where food products are not cooked, cut, prepares, produced, or otherwise transformed. These areas would include storage:
- Refrigerated storage (temp <41°)
- Frozen storage
- Dry storage for ingredients, dry goods, and packaging
They would include areas for staff and visitors that incorporate retail counters, offices, meeting rooms, restrooms, break rooms and lockers.
There needs to be a trash and refuse area to collect and consolidate disposables before removing them to a dumpster ready for pick up for removal to a land fill or incinerator.
Floor and wall areas should be of a style and material that are suitable to the facility purpose and easy to keep clean. Drains must be placed per building code and cleaned regularly to avoid potential contamination. Drains, being an access point for pests, must be inspected regularly for evidence of infestations.
Loading docks must be keep clean and clear of rubbish and trash. Empty boxes and pallets must be stored or disposed of directly after deliveries are made. Stacks of pallets, shipping boxes and containers left in the dock area become hazards to staff if left in the way.
Food handling/Preparation Area are areas where food and food products are actively produced, prepared, served and otherwise actively handled. This includes kitchen space where food is prepped, prepared or cooked for consumption. It includes all surfaces that are in contact with unwrapped food stuffs, raw ingredients. It includes all areas at has and utilizes equipment used in the production on food products. This means as well make rooms, milk transfer storage, ripening rooms and aging caves.
Climate Controlled Environments
Each of the Zones described above will have their own climate requirements depending on the activity taking place in the Zone. The needs of the Kitchen and food prep areas will be different from the staff/guest areas. The make room will require different climate parameters than the aging cave than will the distribution warehouse. The climate control concepts that need to be addressed are:
- Temperature
- Dew Point
- Relative Humidity
- Air Speed or Airflow
Of particular interest to cheese production is air exchange. This involves monitoring and adjusting when necessary:
- Oxygen levels
- Ammonia evacuation
- CO₂ Balancing
Use of proper air filters helps in this activity.
Equipment and Utensils
Below is the BOK Listings of equipment to know related to Operations at Facilities. For any you might not be familiar with, go look a little deeper. Some links are provided.
Technology
Robots, computers and IT systems, cameras
Climate Control tools
Air room exchangers/ positive air pressure/exchange rate (hourly/daily)
- Static, radiant, or ventilated cooling
- Humidifiers/dehumidifiers
- Sensors
Milk processing and storage
Bulk tanks, pasteurizers, bactofuges, separators, clarifiers, churns, vats
Thermometers, temp logs, defrost cycles
Cheese making and Aging
Tools to analyze milk composition
- PH Meters
- Salt analyzers
- Moisture analyzers
- Fat content analyzers
- Molds/forms/hoops
- Presses
- Horizontal, Vertical, prepress tables
- Tables
- Prepress, draining, curd maturation, rotating drum drainer, draining belts, finishing tables
- Vats
- Square body traveling agitator, double O enclosed, circular open top, enclosed cradle, open top semi spherical, continuous coagulator, tipping vats, deep copper conical
- Curd Mill
- Peg, rotary, chip, plunger/drawer style
- Pasta Filata Systems
- Cooker (waterless/steam/hotwater)
- Stretcher
- Molder
- Curd cutting tools
- Harp, Lira, Spino, Spanarola, plates, knives
- Salting and Brining tools
- Finished Product storage, preparation, and sale
- Forklifts/Carts/
- Refrigerated Display Cases
- Cutters/cutting boards/Slicers
- Scales
- Wrapping film/paper, vacuum sealers, containers
Standard Operating Procedures
Development and Maintenance of SOPs
What are Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)? Consider them the rules for activities carried out by operation within facilities. Recipes to get things done. Like recipes it is necessary to write them down so that everyone can follow.
SOPs are procedures, that means they are step-by-step instructions to follow.
They are standards which means they are followed every time an operation is carried out.
SOPs need to be written in order to be clear understandable.
They need to be assembled into a collection that cans be easily referenced and stored in place that is easily accessible to all who need to use them. (Think cookbook, bookshelf).
In training staff to use SOPs it is good to take a three-fold approach.
First, give out copies of the SOPs to trainees for study.
Second, lead staff through actually doing the procedures. Demonstrate the procedures. Observe while they do the procedures correcting any errors or missteps.
Third, introduce a check off template for trainee to check off proficiency with the procedure. Completing the Check list should be part of the SOP for each operation.
See here for a good references to SOPs and writing SOPs
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/MDA_SOPMnl06-09rev_290207_7.pdf
https://extension.psu.edu/standard-operating-procedures-a-writing-guide
Best practices
ACS has produced Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers (BPGC). It is available at the ACS website and at the Safe Cheesemaking Hub http://guides.cheesesociety.org/safecheesemakinghub/
It is a good reference for operations and procedures. The Hub has a good number of links.
BPGC has an important section on Environmental Testing and Monitoring for Pathogens (Chapt 4.3). It delineates testing zones and describes the frequency of testing suggested by the FDA.
Our hope is that ACS will soon produce a Best Practices Guide for Retailers. Sartori’s Cut&Wrap Series has an excellent look at retail practice.
http://www.sartoricheese.com/cut-and-wrap.html
Cleaning & sanitation protocols
Standards of hygiene
Why clean? We clean to prevent dirt, molds, and bacteria from adulterating and spoiling food being prepared and sold. We clean to prevent harmful bacteria, pathogens, and toxic substances from attaching and entering the food presented to the public.
Cleaning protocols establish cleaning schedules and the type of cleaning required.
We clean often and record the time and date we clean. We document the cleaning to show ourselves and inspecting agencies that we have cleaned and how we have cleaned.
Daily cleaning protocols should involve preliminary cleaning at the beginning of the work shift. This attends to any unseen and unexpected contamination that might have occurred off shift. Spot cleaning should happen throughout the shift after one task ends and another begins. At end of shift a deeper cleaning should be performed on all surfaces and equipment. Where possible, equipment needs to be broken down and working parts properly cleaned and sanitized.
Spot cleaning will help prevent cross contact. Cross contact is defined as “indirect bacterial contamination (infection) of food, caused by contact with an infected raw food or non-food source such as clothes, cutting boards, knives”.
Color coding systems can be used to quickly identify what activities are carried out with which protocols. Chemicals and cleaning agents can be matched with protocols as well by color coding. It is very important for staff to be familiar with all chemicals and how they are to be used. Types of agents; caustics, acids, and sanitizers, can be harmful to staff if used inappropriately or carelessly. All cleaning agents need to keep in clearly labeled containers.
Cleaning processes may have different applications of agents. CIP (clean in place) might require foaming or fogging in order to get to place difficult to reach. COP (clean out of place) may allow for manual or machine cleaning.
It is important to have a written procedure for cleaning up spills. Each type of spill should be identified and the appropriate method of clean up described. For example, if there are solids spilled how are the solids removed and disposed. If liquids are spills how are liquids contained and removed. After the spills are recovered, how is the area of the spill returned to a safe condition.
Appropriate cleaning equipment and supplies should be keep at hand. These include mops, buckets, wipes, scrubbers, foaming systems.
In the case of wooden board used in Affinage, traditional cleaning involves soaking in tap-temperature water and vigorously scrubbing them. Another example is to pressure wash and scrub board with 140° water, sanitize with Chlorine or Hydrogen Peroxide. Dry in area with adequate airflow. Store in a clean room until next used.
Some links with relevant info:
https://extension.psu.edu/writing-sanitation-standard-operating-procedures-ssops
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF/Grant_of_Inspection_Attachment4.pdf
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=117
Remaining Policies, Standards, and Procedures to implement in Operations1
Personnel
- Policies
- Personal hygiene policies and practices (Included in GMPs)
- Fitness for work
- Protective clothing and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- OSHA regulations
- Fair labor practices in U.S. and abroad
- Ergonomics
Visitors
- Visitor policies, sign in-log
- Contractor policies, sign in log
Crisis Management/ disaster planning Recalls and withdrawals
- ▪ Traceability: one step forward, one step backward
- ▪ Procedures for isolation of affected product
- ▪ Documentation
- ▪ Wording of recall notice to be posted
- ▪ Product disposition
- ▪ Sanitation procedures
- ▪ Financial credit
- ▪ Responding to consumer questions
- ▪ Handling of media
- ▪ Internal/ External Communications
- ▪ PR/ Communication planning
Contact lists
- Legal counsel
- First aid
- Natural disasters
- ▪ Flood
- ▪ Fire
- ▪ Power/ server outages
- ▪ Other natural disaster
1 taken from ACS Body of Knowledge
© American Cheese Society 2017
This tutorial of Domain 2: Operations was created by Allin Tallmadge ACS CCP and is solely owned by him and used with permission. Copyright Allin Tallmadge 2018.
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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