Specific Hygienic and Sanitary Practices to be followed by Food Business Operators engaged in manufacture, processing, storing and selling of Milk and Milk Products

In addition to Part-II, the dairy establishment in which dairy based food is being handled, processed, manufactured, stored, distributed and ultimately sold by the food business operator, and the persons handling them should conform to the sanitary and hygienic requirement, food safety measures and other standard as specified below.

SANITARY REQUIREMENTS

1.Dairy Establishments shall have the following:
• Facilities for the hygienic handling and protection of raw materials and of non-packed or non-wrapped dairy products during loading and unloading, transport & storing including Bulk Milk cooling facilities.
• Special watertight, non-corrodible containers to put raw materials or dairy products intended for human consumption. Where such raw materials or dairy products are removed through conduits, these shall be constructed and installed in such a way so as to avoid any risk of contamination of other raw materials or dairy products;
• a waste water disposal system which is hygienic and approved ;
• facilities for cleaning & disinfecting of tanks used for transporting dairy products and raw milk. These containers have to be cleaned after every use.
2.The occupier of a dairy establishment shall take appropriate measures to avoid cross-contamination of dairy products in accordance with the cleaning program as specified in point 9.1 of Part II.
3.Where a dairy establishment produces food stuffs containing dairy products together with other ingredients, which have not undergone heat treatment or any other treatment having equivalent effect, such dairy products and ingredients shall be stored separately to prevent cross-contamination.
4.The production of heat-treated milk or the manufacture of milk-based products, which might pose a risk of contamination to other dairy products, shall be carried out in a clearly separated working area.
5.Equipment, containers and installations which come into contact with dairy products or perishable raw materials used during production shall be cleaned and if necessary disinfected according to a verified and documented cleaning programme.
6.Equipment, containers, instruments and installations which come in contact with microbiologically stable dairy products and the rooms in which they are stored shall be cleaned and disinfected according to a verified and documented Food Safety management programme drawn up by the owner/occupier of the dairy establishment.
7.Disinfectants and similar substances used shall be used in such a way that they do not have any adverse effects on the machinery, equipment, raw materials and dairy products kept at the dairy establishment. They shall be in clearly identifiable containers bearing labels with instructions for their use and their use shall be followed by thorough rinsing of such instruments and working equipment with potable water, unless supplier’s instructions indicate otherwise.

PERSONAL HYGIENE REQUIREMENTS

1.The Food Business Operator shall employ those persons only in such an establishment to work directly with and handle raw materials or dairy products if those persons have proved to the occupier’s satisfaction by means of a medical certificate, on recruitment, that there is no medical impediment to their employment in that capacity.
2.Persons working directly with and handling raw materials or dairy products shall maintain the highest standards of personal cleanliness at all times. In particular they shall
• wear suitable, clean working clothes and headgear which completely encloses their hair;
• wash their hands at least each time work is resumed and whenever contamination of their hands has occurred; e.g. after coughing / sneezing, visiting toilet, using telephone, smoking etc.
• cover wounds to the skin with a suitable waterproof dressing. No person with injury on hand, even with dressing, shall be placed in any product making/handling section.
• avoid certain hand habits – e.g. scratching nose, running finger through hair, rubbing eyes, ears and mouth, scratching beard, scratching parts of bodies etc. that are potentially hazardous when associated with handling dairy products, and might lead to food contamination through the transfer of bacteria from the employee to product during its preparation. When unavoidable, hands should be effectively washed before resuming work after such actions

SANITARY REQUIREMENTS FOR STORAGE

1.Immediately after procuring, raw milk shall be placed in a clean place, which is suitably equipped so as to prevent any kind of contamination.
2.The cans/ containers made up of mild steel metal and plastic material used for storage and transportation of milk and milk products shall not be allowed.
3.If raw milk is brought to the dairy plant by a producer or farmer then it shall be ensured that he brings it within four hours of milking and it shall be cooled as soon as practicable to a temperature of 4ºC or lower and maintained at that temperature until processed.
4.Where raw milk is collected daily from a producer, it shall be cooled immediately to a temperature of 4ºC to 6ºC or lower and maintained at that temperature until processed; 5.When the pasteurization process is completed, pasteurized milk shall be cooled immediately to a temperature of 4ºC or lower.
6.Subject to Paragraph 7 below, any dairy product not intended to be stored at ambient temperature shall be cooled as quickly as possible to the temperature established by the manufacturer of that product as suitable to ensure its durability and thereafter stored at that temperature.
7.Where dairy products other than raw milk are stored under cooled conditions, their storage temperatures shall be registered and the cooling rate shall be such that the products reach the required temperature as quickly as possible.
8.The maximum temperature at which pasteurized milk may be stored until it leaves the treatment establishment shall not exceed 5ºC

WRAPPING AND PACKAGING

1.The wrapping and packaging of dairy products shall take place under satisfactory hygienic conditions and in rooms provided for that purpose.
2.The manufacture of dairy products and packaging operations may take place in the same room if the following conditions are satisfied: —
•The room shall be sufficiently large and equipped to ensure the hygiene of the operations;
•the wrapping and packaging shall have been brought to the treatment or processing establishment in protective cover in which they were placed immediately after manufacture and which protects the wrapping or packaging from any damage during transport to the dairy establishment, and they shall have been stored there under hygienic conditions in a room intended for that purpose;
•the rooms for storing the packaging material shall be free from vermin and from dust which could constitute an unacceptable risk of contamination of the product and shall be separated from rooms containing substances which might contaminate the products. Packaging shall not be placed directly on the floor;
•packaging shall be assembled under hygienic conditions before being brought into the room, except in the case of automatic assembly or packaging, provided that there is no risk of contamination of the products;
•packaging shall be done without delay. It shall be handled by separate group of staff having experience in handling and product wrapping and
•immediately after packaging, the dairy products shall be placed in the designated rooms provided for storage under required temperature.
3.Bottling or filling of containers with heat-treated milk and milk product shall be carried out hygienically.
4.Wrapping or packaging may not be re-used for dairy products, except where the containers are of a type which may be re-used after thorough cleaning and disinfecting.
5.Sealing shall be carried out in the establishment in which the last heat-treatment of milk or liquid milk-based products have been carried out, immediately after filling, by means of a sealing device which ensures that the milk is protected from any adverse effects of external origin on its characteristic. The sealing device shall be so designed that once the container has been opened, the evidence of opening remains clear and easy to check.