Food safety is the single most important aspect of food production. A few years ago, as a food safety consultant, I was given the challenge to assist three large flour mills in achieving FSSC 22000 certification. Flour mills are wonderful producers of food. They are highly automated while producing large volumes of flour. One mill where I consulted had only 25 employees producing 800,000 pounds of flour daily. These facilities have enclosed systems that transfer the wheat from different sections of the plant through piping and the use of various processing machines. It is a very efficient process.
The processes in these mills do present challenges, however. One is the nature of cleaning the facility. Water cannot be used as in most food plants, where equipment is sprayed down and cleaned with wet sanitizers. One reason for the lack of water use is that some mills have wood construction. Another reason is that water, upon touching flour, ruins the product and creates a sanitation problem. All cleaning must be accomplished in dry form using brooms and brushes, according to a predetermined Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure (SSOP).