For a Processing Facility Making a Variety of Salads Containing Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts

Example Handling & Storage Policy

For a processing facility making a variety of salads containing fruits, vegetables and nuts

XYZ Food Facility Handling & Storage Policy for Food, Ingredients, Processing Aids and Packaging Materials Written By: A. Smith Code: SOP P3.1.1 Revision Date: November 12, 2008

Who: Designated trained processing or shipping personnel

When: On-going

What: Transportation Through the Facility  Take food, ingredients, processing aids and packaging materials directly from the dock immediately after receiving tasks are complete (do not allow food, ingredients, processing aids and packaging materials to sit on the dock for longer than 20 minutes) and do not leave them anywhere but in their designated storage area  Do not damage food, ingredients, processing aids or packaging materials while transporting them (e.g. be careful not to hit walls, door frames or other skids)  Transport loads to processing rooms only if needed within the next two hours (e.g. don’t store anything in processing)  Cover all open food, ingredients, processing aids and packaging material when transporting them throughout the facility so they are not exposed  Don’t move allergens through rooms where non-allergens products are being processed or are exposed  Cover all allergen containing food or ingredients when transporting them through the facility

of 4  After handling allergen containing food or ingredients, and before handling non- allergens, wash your hands and change your smock Storage  Store items requiring refrigeration (dressing, vegetables), in Cooler A  Store items requiring freezing (fruit), in the Freezer  Store packaging materials and dry ingredients (nuts, spices), in the Dry Room  Nuts are an allergen and will be marked with an orange label at receiving. Store nuts in the designated allergen area in the Dry Room  Store finished product in Cooler B. Store finished product containing allergens (nut salad) in the designated area in Cooler B (Orange area marked “Allergens”). Complete the Inventory record when adding/removing product.  Label returned product with a yellow “Hold” label with the date and store it in the marked area in Cooler A. Follow the Hold Procedure SOP P3.2.1 for all returned product or any food, ingredients, processing aids or packaging materials that are found to be defective or suspected of being contaminated  Cover food, ingredients, processing aids and packaging materials during storage. If the food or ingredient does not have a cover, cut a strip of clean, food contact plastic from the roll in the processing room and use it as a cover. Discard the plastic when no longer needed, do not reuse pieces of plastic.  Do not store containers of food, ingredients, processing aids or packaging materials directly on the floor, always store them on a skid  Place skids of food, ingredients, processing aids and packaging materials at least 30 cm/1 ft. away from the wall  When adding items to storage areas, re-arrange them so that items with the earliest expiration date are at the front and will be used before items with later expiration dates (oldest used first). This is called FIFO or first-in, first-out.  When removing items from the storage areas for use in production, be sure that the expiration date hasn’t passed  Do not use dirty or broken totes, bins or skids. Remove all dirty or broken skids to the repair area.  Never sit or stand on food, ingredients, processing aids, or packaging materials even if they are still packaged

of 4  If stored items must be stacked, do not stack them higher than two skids high to prevent crushing  Do not place any chemicals, utensils, equipment or personal belongings on any food, ingredients, processing aids or packaging materials (e.g. do not use boxes of ingredients or packaging as a shelf or a seat) During Processing  Do not leave food, ingredients, processing aids or packaging materials in processing areas unless it is scheduled for use within the next two hours  If any food falls on floor, dispose of it in the inedible bins (red) and wash your hands  Do not place packaging materials of any kind on food contact surfaces. Only place packaging materials on the “Boxing Table”.  Dispose packaging materials that have fallen on the floor and wash your hands  Label finished product containing allergens (nuts) with an Orange allergen label before removing from production area  Remove finished product from the processing room immediately after a skid is complete, at the start of breaks and at the end of the day, e.g. do not allow finished product to remain in the processing room longer than necessary  Do not take finished product directly from processing to shipping. Finished product must go into Cooler B to cool to the required temperature before being shipped.  When removing finished product from Cooler B to be shipped take the oldest product first  When adding or removing finished product from Cooler B, follow SOP/RCD P3.1.1 Finished Product Inventory Procedure and Record  Always use the correct bins, utensils and equipment for the material being handled – they are all either labelled or colour coded: o Red for inedible o White for edible o Grey for garbage o Orange for Allergens or Allergen containing products (nut salad) o Yellow for Ice

of 4  Do not place white/edible bins, orange/allergen bins or yellow/ice bins directly on the floor, place them on stainless steel castors  Products containing allergens (nuts) are scheduled to be processed last, at the end of the production day. Do not remove any nuts from their designated storage area until production of all non-allergen products is complete and they are stored in Cooler B. If you are unable to follow any part of this policy (e.g. no labels available, not enough room to store items 30 cm from the wall) immediately notify the Supervisor to resolve the problem