Dairy Processing - September/October 2024 - 67

controls are not in place.
The Innovation Center for US Dairy's
document draws attention to the threat of
listeria monocytogenes, warning that it " grows at
refrigeration temperatures and can tolerate a higher
salt environment than other bacteria, " Within a
facility, the experts said, listeria monocytogenes
may pop up in cool, wet areas where pasteurized
products are handled and stored.
Conversely, dry dairy powder and production
operations are associated with the potential for
salmonella and cronobacter sakazakii. Industry
specialists cautioned that cronobacter sakazakii
becomes an even bigger concern when it originates
in dry dairy powder that is intended to be used without
further heat treatment. Such contaminated products made
for infant nutrition or immune-compromised adults, experts
forewarned, can lead to blood infection, meningitis or, in
some cases, death.
While there have been recalls in the dairy industry through
the years, Galer wouldn't describe them as frequent or typical.
He considers it good news that post-pasteurization crosscontamination
instances are rare enough that there aren't
truly common examples of quality assurance gone wrong.
" The dairy industry, and the food manufacturers in
general, following best practices are always trying to prevent
those instances of process cross-contamination, " he said.
THE PATHOGEN CONTROL EQUATION
Galer, who serves on the Innovation Center for US Dairy's
food safety committee, persistently references a simple,
informative guidance the organization created to outline key
principles that collectively create an effective food safety
culture. It's called the pathogen control equation.
" There are several elements that keep products and
consumers safe, " Galer said.
A shorthand mechanism that covers an extensive scope
of actions, the equation recommends six principles in a dairy
processing facility: the separation of raw from ready-to-eat
areas; ensuring good manufacturing practices are followed;
controlled conditions, with a well-maintained infrastructure
appropriate for products; sanitary facility and equipment
design; effective cleaning and sanitation procedures and
controls; and robust environmental pathogen monitoring.
The center points out to dairy processors that it's more
likely for pathogens or " spoilage organisms " to be located in
uncontrolled or raw manufacturing areas, and less likely for
them to pop up in a facility's controlled production or readyto-eat
(RTE) areas. That's why its equation calls for managing
the flow of not only personnel, but also supplies, equipment
and air, to reduce the potential for cross-contamination.
Good manufacturing practices (GMPs), industry food
safety experts will tell you, are critical in the dairy industry
for preventing contamination. The Innovation Center for
US Dairy notes that GMPs apply to employees, as well as
all production practices implemented. Because moisture
may lead to " microbial harborage " and growth, the equation
advises dairy production facilities to keep floors and surfaces
dry, well-maintained and free of cracks. The guidance
describes harborage points in a facility as " locations where
pathogens may survive, " adding " they are usually difficult to
reach with routine cleaning. "
Effective, efficient cleaning and sanitation within a facility
are fortified when a sanitary design is carried out for all of
the spaces and equipment in a plant. The Innovation Center
for US Dairy informs dairy processing quality, food safety
and engineering professionals that the importance of fully
assessing cleanability and design should involve observing -
or possibly taking part in - the sanitation process to ensure
practical knowledge may be applied for various scenarios that
may arise.
Even facilities that may lack strong sanitary designs
can offset those shortcomings with effective sanitation
DAIRYPROCESSING.COM | SEP-OCT 2024 67
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