Principles of Food Warehousing

1
Principles of Food Warehousing

• By
• Dr Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D.
• Public Health Scientist Consultant
• Trinidad, West Indies

2
Definition of food warehouse

• Any food storage facility, storing large or nor
  so large amounts of food for either short or long
  periods, for distribution in normal food channels
• Important link in the food chain from the
  processor to consumer
• Vary in nomenclature, size, function and physical
  conditions

3
What is the importance of safe food warehousing?

• To prevent economic losses
• To promote health and well being
• To facilitate trade
• To facilitate economic prosperity
• To prevent spread of diseases

4
What is the importance of safe food
warehousing? (contd)

• To provide a readily available source of food
• To provide revenue and job opportunities
• To prevent burden on health care facilities
• To ensure a steady supply of goods on the market
• To ensure consumers have access to foods in and
  out of season both locally and internationally

5
What types of food warehouses exist?

• Dry storage warehouse
• Chilled storage warehouse
• Frozen storage warehouse
• Dry and chilled storage warehouse
• Dry and frozen storage warehouse
• Chilled and frozen storage warehouse
• Dry, chilled and frozen storage warehouse

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Warehouse grounds

• Areas surrounding warehouse should be
• Free from weeds, grass and bush
• Free from trash, rodent tracks and burrows
• Free from standing water and clogged drains
• Walkways and driveways paved and kept in a good
  state of repair
• Well drained
• Ideally located away from potential environmental
  hazards

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Warehouse building (external)

• Walls and roof should be painted and maintained
  in a good state of repair
• Doors and windows should be screened proofed
• Wall and ceilings should be free from cracks and
  holes
• Pipes entering the building should be sealed
  properly to prevent entry of pests
• Roofs should be maintained in a good state of
  repair and not leak

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Warehouse building (internal)

• Floors, walls and ceilings should be smooth,
  clean and maintained in a good state of repair to
  prevent cross contamination
• Windows and doors should seal tightly to prevent
  entry of pests
• No dead spaces around equipment or other
  structures that would provide harborage for pests
  and prevent efficient cleaning

9
Warehouse equipment

• Chillers
• Freezers
• Forklifts
• Shelves
• Storage bins
• Temperature and humidity gauges
• Pallets

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Warehouse equipment characteristics

• Rust resistant
• Odour resistant
• Non-porous
• Easily cleaned and sanitized
• Suitably colored

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Warehouse equipment characteristics (contd)

• Food grade or compatible
• Non toxic
• Located in an area that facilitates easy cleaning
  and maintenance
• Free from grease and other chemical or physical
  contaminants

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Warehouse storage conditions

• Food items should be stored on pallets
• 46 cm off ground and 46 cm off wall
• Non crowded
• Clean and sanitary
• Food items stored and rotated on a
  first-in-first-out basis
• Maintained at proper temperature and humidity
• Free from physical, chemical and microbiological
  hazards

13
Warehouse storage and handling of hazardous
materials

• Poisonous chemicals such as pesticides, cleaning
  solvents, lubricants and other compounds should
  be safely and securely stored
• Accessed by authorized, trained employees
• Properly labelled
• Follow manufacturers instructions as to the
  quantity for safe use
• Use protective ware when handling hazardous
  materials

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Warehouse storage temperature

• All frozen food products should be at 18
• º C or below
• During transport the temperature should not be
  higher than 12 ºC
• Temperatures for chilled storage should be kept
  between 1º C and 4 º C
• Dry storage areas should be between 10 º C and 21
  º C
• Thermometers should be present in all frozen
  storage, chilled storage and dry storage areas
  with on site temperature logs

15
Warehouse storage temperature and relative
humidity

• Products Temperatures Relative Humidity
• Frozen meats -23 º to -17 º C
  ------------
• Canned products 4.4 º to 16 º C 50 to
  60
• Grains 4.4 º to 16 º C 50 to
  60

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Warehouse air circulation

• Important factor in the proper storage of food
• Food products should be stacked on pallets
• 46 cm wall clearance and 5 cm ceiling clearance
• Sufficient working aisle space

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Warehouse ventilation

• To prevent excessive heat, steam condensation
  and/or dust from accumulating within a confined
  area
• Should never be from dirty to clean area
• Openings should be screen proofed
• Should be natural or artificial

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Warehouse lighting

• Essential for
• General cleaning
• Reading and identifying labels, colours
• Recognising the condition of the food stored
• Preventing injuries
• Preventing cross contamination of food products

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Warehouse lighting specifications (contd)

• At least 540 lux at all inspection points
• At least 220 lux in work areas
• At least 110 lux in other areas

20
Warehouse sanitary operations

• To avoid contamination of food products
• To ensure detergents, sanitizers, hazardous
  materials and other supplies used in safe and
  effective manner
• Cleaning compounds and hazardous materials kept
  in original containers, stored separate from food
  products
• Garbage properly stored and protected from
  insects, rodents and other pests and/or disposed
  in an adequate manner

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Warehouse sanitation operations (contd)

• A permanent cleaning and disinfecting schedule
  should be developed and enforced
• All cleaning workers should be well trained in
  cleaning and disinfecting procedures
• All floors are not cleaned in the same
  manner-some floors are wet cleaned using a
  strong cleanser, rinsed and allowed to dry, other
  floors are cleaned by sweeping and brushing

22
Warehouse chemicals for disinfection

• Chlorine and chlorine-based products
• 100-250 mg of available chlorine per litre
• Two minutes exposure time
• Rinse after exposure
• Iodophors
• 25-50 mg per litre of available iodine
• Two minutes exposure time
• Rinse after exposure
• Quaternary ammonium compounds
• 200-300 mg per litre
• Two minutes exposure time
• Rinse thoroughly after exposure

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How to handle garbage in food warehouse?

• Quickly remove and store in covered bins
• Excellent breeding ground for pests
• Broken down pallets and cardboard boxes should be
  disposed of in an appropriate manner

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Transportation practices to and from food
warehouse

• Transport at the proper temperature
• Maintain a temperature log for each trip
• Protect food from thermal, physical, chemical and
  microbiological injury
• Protect from unsanitary conditions
• Protect from poor handling and packing
• Transport food in covered reliable well cleaned
  and maintained vehicles

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Requirements for incoming raw materials in food
warehouse

• Temperature of food product
• Absence of pesticide residues
• Microbiological quality
• Chemical quality
• Absence of physical contaminants
• Clean and sanitary surroundings
• Grade or type
• Conform with regulatory agencys requirements
• Absence of insects, rodents or bird activity

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Rotation of stored food in warehouse

• Food products should be rotated based on the
  expiry date and perishability
• Old products should be kept in front of the new
  products
• All incoming products should be dated
• Food containers should not be dusty, faded or
  discoloured

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Repackaging operations in food warehouse

• Should be done under strict hygienic and sanitary
  conditions
• All equipment should be clean free from debris
  and properly sanitized
• Packaging should be food grade and unadulterated
• Audit for quality by ensuring all packaging seams
  are intact, no foreign contaminants, filled to
  stated weight or volume
• Audit for safety by performing random or
  systematic sampling of repackaged products for
  chemical, physical and microbiological consistency

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Quarantine in food warehouse

• Products spoiled by physical, chemical and
  microbiological damage, insects, rodents or other
  causes should be stored in a designated
  quarantine area
• Quarantined items should be disposed of quickly
  to avoid pest harborage and infestation of stored
  food
• Incoming materials that are damaged and not in
  accordance with suppliers specifications should
  be rejected

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Pest control in food warehouse

• Perform regular pest inspections in and around
  warehouse
• Be vigilant and on the look out for burrows,
  urine tracks, fecal pellets, rub marks, snawing
  marks, hairs, dead rodents, etc.
• Pesticides are poisons and should be administered
  by a competent person
• Pesticides should be placed at marked positions
  throughout the warehouse and checked regularly

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Recall types for potentially hazardous food
distributed from food warehouse

• Three types of FDA recall
• Type I Most serious, high risk, potential injury
  or death
• Type II Minimum risk, temporary health problems
• Type III Least severe, unlikely to cause health
  problems, violate FDA manufacturing or labeling
  regulations

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Recall procedures for potential hazardous food
distributed by food warehouse

• Maintain a current list of all purchasers
• Person name doing business on behalf of
• company
• Name of company
• Mailing address
• Phone number
• Email address

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Recall procedures for potentially hazardous food
distributed by food warehouse(contd)

• Each product sold/distributed should have a batch
  number indicating time, date, batch, shift with
  respect to its manufacture
• Each product withdrawn from the market should be
  able to be traced back to its source and possible
  areas of concern identified and corrected for
  future products

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Employees code of practice in food warehouse

• Good hygienic practices
• Good sanitary practices
• Suitable safety ware such as clothing, face mask,
  respirators, weight lifting belts, steel tip
  booths
• Properly trained staff

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Toilet facilities available to employees in food
warehouse

• Toilets should not open directly into food
  storage areas
• Sewage line should not pass over stored food
• The number of toilets should be appropriate to
  the number of staff, both male and female
• Warning signs should be posted on entering toilet
  areas advising users to wash hands thoroughly
  after use

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Toilet facilities available to employees in food
warehouse (contd)

• Toilets should be equipped with toilet paper,
  soap, sanitizer and potable water
• Toilets should be maintained clean and sanitary
  at all times
• Toilets should be properly ventilated and may be
  fitted with extractor fans

36
Hand washing facilities available to employees in
food warehouse

• Suitably located and present in the sufficient
  numbers to ensure safe and hygienic operations
• Prevent cross contamination of stored food

37
Changing room facility available to employees in
food warehouse

• Should be equipped with lockers
• Prevents employees using street clothes
• Provides a place to change clothes and to put on
  protective gear
• Should be maintained in a good state of repair
• Separate for males and females

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Conclusions

• Food warehouses are an important link in the food
  chain from farm to fork
• Food warehouses provide a readily available
  reserve supply of food allowing consumers to
  enjoy a wide variety of foods out of season as
  well as in season
• Food warehouse like other food facilities must be
  built in a non hazardous environment and
  maintained in a good state of repair to prevent
  adulteration of stored food

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Conclusions (contd)

• Employees who work in food warehouses should
  observe proper hygienic guidelines and sanitation
  standard operating procedures
• Proper employee facilities should be in place
  such as toilet facilities, hand washing stations,
  changing rooms, lunch rooms to prevent
  adulteration of stored food
• Proper protocols should be implemented for
  transportation, receiving, storage, and recall of
  food

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References

• Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
  nations. 1984. Manuals of Quality Control 5. Food
  Inspection.
• Longree, K. 1985. Quality Food Sanitation. New
  York John Wiley Sons.
• Pattron, D. 2004. Quality Assurance Food
  Service. New York Scientific Publishers.
• Pattron, D. 2004. Food Safety. New York
  Scientific Publishers.

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The End

• Thank You
• Dr Deryck D. Pattron, Ph.D
• Public Health Safety Consultant
• Trinidad, West Indies
• Email drpattron_at_gmail.com