In food processing plants, food safety garments are worn to protect the wearer and the product itself from cross-contamination. Simple enough. But how successful a plant is in preventing cross-contamination from uniforms is where it gets tricky. Basics including employee education, providing uniforms and laundry services, auditing vendors and keeping raw and cooked item departments separate are key.
“Success [with ensuring employees follow garment protocols] is strictly plant-dependent, not based on the company — and there’s no difference between pork, beef or chicken plants on how this is handled either,” says Gary Ades, Ph.D., president of G&L Consulting Group, based in Bentonville, Ark. “It comes down to the managers and how they treat employees.”