Maintaining hygiene levels is essential for a good reputation
August 1st 2005

With the food manufacturing industry facing more commercial and technical pressure in maintaining hygiene standards than ever before, Tim Richardson, technical manager, Initial Foodguard, explains how Initial works with their customers to meet this challenge...

Maintaining hygiene in any food production facility is essential.

In the food industry, reputation is all and, as cleaning contractors, we have a vital role to play in helping our customers maintain that reputation. Food products are produced at an alarming rate to meet demand with no corners cut on the health and hygiene front. Our goal is to continuously develop and improve cleaning methods and documentation and provide a professional independent auditing regime to ensure compliance with the very highest industry standards.

A prime example of this philosophy in practice can be found at a major snack manufacture in the Midlands, where Initial consistently scores ‘excellent’ and ‘superior’ in audits carried out by the American Institute of Bakers (AIB). During their last visit Initial scored 900, the first time this has been achieved in Europe, under new, even more stringent, AIB guidelines. It is this consistency that enables us to build solid relationships with our customers, and demonstrates that we are indeed at the forefront of the industry. The site was also awarded an ‘Oscar’of the cleaning industry, the Golden Service Award for ‘Best Cleaned manufacturing Premises’.

But at Initial we don’t just offer customers clean production facilities, we offer the complete peace of mind that comes from dealing with professionals. Initial Foodguard meets the requirements of all relevant legislation, such as the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulation 1995, ensuring our customers can readily demonstrate ‘due diligence’ in respect of their factory hygiene operations.

We offer customers technical support and consultancy on a noncontract basis which can involve everything from making recommendations with regards to cleaning methods, to installing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems. Initial also has the expertise in developing ‘high care’, hygiene management systems to meet British Retail Consortium (BRC) standards.

In some cases, customers need our services for special ‘one off’ cleans. Examples include production increases or supplier audits. To meet this need, Initial recently launched a new mobile hygiene service to undertake ‘high care’, deep cleans at very short notice, anywhere in the UK. This also includes high-level work above manufacturing and processing equipment, areas that are often critical in the food manufacturing process with the potential for debris falling into the product.

Initial is among the very few companies in the market able to provide the high-level service using our specially trained hygienists.

Training is key to providing our customers with this professional, and knowledgeable, service. Every member of our staff is fully trained has the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Basic Food Hygiene Certificate.

Technology too is increasingly playing a role in food hygiene. Initial Foodguard has pioneered Internet-based auditing and scheduling called ‘Clean-Net’ which gives real time visibility of cleaning operations and reporting systems.

Clean-Net is a bespoke system tailored to each of our customers needs whereby customers are able to specify the information they require for example, quality audits in real time from mobile pocket computers.

The system is designed to allow all of the data collected to be transferred wirelessly by mobile pocket PC’s to the Clean-Net web site, with the option to access Rentokil Initial UK Cleaning’s Call Centre to see what actions we have taken to resolve any reported concerns.

Barcodes are placed in areas of the customer’s choice, and are scanned by our Site Manager.

Having scanned the barcode, they will be then logged into their pocket computer, which will show the premises that they are visiting, and the criteria of that area for the audit.

At the end of the audit, our Site Manager is required to get the audit signed off by the client using the graffiti pad on the pocket PC’s.

If the customer does not agree with any of the scores awarded by the Site Manager, the scores can be amended.

Clean-Net helps us and our customers to ensure that high standards of hygiene are maintained at all times. It also enables us to react immediately if we see a potential problem. Because all of the information is live, the customer can see exactly what is happening, as it happens, no matter what time of day or night.

Initial Foodguard has the knowledge, technology and resources to relieve as much pressure as we can from our customers to enable them to focus on what they do best.

And the relationships we develop allow our customers to rely on us to do what we do best – maintain high levels of hygiene in the food processing and manufacturing market.